Iran placed the Gulf energy sector under direct military threat on Wednesday after Israeli forces struck the South Pars gasfield — the world’s largest natural gas reserve — for the first time. The Revolutionary Guards announced imminent strikes against facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, and ordered all workers to evacuate. The announcement pushed oil prices sharply higher and deepened fears of a sweeping energy infrastructure war.
South Pars is shared between Iran and Qatar and central to Iran’s energy export revenues and domestic supply. The Israeli attack on the field — reportedly authorized by the US — broke an implicit boundary that had kept energy infrastructure off the battlefield throughout the conflict. Both Washington and Tel Aviv had previously avoided this move, calculating that the risks of triggering a wider energy war outweighed the potential strategic gains.
Threatened facilities listed by Iran’s state media included the Samref refinery and Jubail complex in Saudi Arabia, the al-Hosn gasfield in the UAE, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities. All personnel were urged to evacuate immediately. Iran’s Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli strike “political suicide” and said the conflict had evolved into a full-scale economic war.
Oil prices rose nearly 5% to $108.60 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon. European gas benchmarks surged more than 7.5% to above €55.50 per megawatt hour. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war levels, battered by infrastructure damage and Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait unimpeded, while preventing its Gulf neighbors from doing so.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure endangered global energy security and regional populations. The conflict had arrived at a pivotal and deeply dangerous moment. With specific targets named, evacuation orders issued, and Iran’s retaliatory window open, the Gulf’s energy sector — and the global economy that depended on it — faced a moment of maximum uncertainty and peril.