Iran named the Gulf nations’ energy lifelines as targets for imminent strikes on Wednesday after the South Pars gasfield was struck by Israeli forces for the first time. The Revolutionary Guards identified specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar and ordered immediate evacuation. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the targeting of the Gulf’s energy lifelines raised fears of a catastrophic and potentially irreversible supply disruption.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, is shared between Iran and Qatar and has been central to Iran’s energy economy throughout the conflict. The Israeli strike — reportedly with US consent — was the first direct attack on Iranian fossil fuel production. Both countries had previously avoided this step, but crossing this threshold triggered Iran’s most expansive and credible retaliatory threat of the entire war.
Iran’s state broadcaster named Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities as targets. All workers and residents were told to leave without delay. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli strike “political suicide” and declared the conflict had entered a full-scale economic warfare phase.
Brent crude climbed to $108.60 per barrel — a nearly 5% gain — while European gas prices jumped more than 7.5% to above €55.50 per megawatt hour. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war levels due to sustained infrastructure damage and Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade. Iran had continued to ship its own crude through the strait unimpeded while preventing Gulf neighbors from doing so — a strategic weapon that had given it significant economic leverage throughout the conflict.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure endangered global energy security, the environment, and millions of regional residents. The Gulf nations’ energy lifelines — the refineries, petrochemical complexes, and gas facilities that powered their economies and contributed to global energy supply — were now in Iran’s crosshairs. With evacuation orders issued and a tight window declared, the world faced a moment of maximum danger for the global energy system.