Iran warned on Wednesday that it would strike critical energy infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE within hours, after Israel launched attacks on the South Pars gasfield — the largest natural gas reserve in the world. The Revolutionary Guards issued evacuation orders and named specific facilities as targets. The announcement rattled global energy markets and deepened fears of a full-scale energy war in the Gulf.
South Pars sits in the Persian Gulf and is shared between Iran and Qatar. Its targeting by Israel, reportedly with US endorsement, represented an unprecedented escalation in the conflict. Prior to the strike, both the US and Israel had been careful to avoid hitting Iranian energy infrastructure, understanding that doing so could set off a chain reaction with devastating consequences for world energy supplies.
Iran identified Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail petrochemical complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed complex and Ras Laffan refinery as its next targets. State media instructed all personnel near these facilities to evacuate without delay. Eskandar Pasalar, governor of the Asaluyeh province in Iran, said the conflict had shifted into a full-scale economic war and condemned the Israeli strike as a reckless miscalculation.
The oil price benchmark climbed to $108.60 a barrel — a nearly 5% rise — while European gas prices jumped more than 7.5%. Regional oil exports had fallen 60% from pre-war levels, hammered by infrastructure damage and Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had been shipping its own crude through the strait unhindered while effectively preventing neighboring states from doing the same.
Qatar’s government called for an immediate halt to attacks on energy sites, warning that such actions constituted a serious threat to global energy security. The standoff now centered on whether Iran would follow through on its specific and time-bound threats. With evacuation orders in place and oil markets on edge, the world was witnessing what many feared could become the most destructive energy crisis of the 21st century.
