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On Thursday, Iran escalated its offensive against Gulf Arab neighbors by targeting their energy infrastructure. This led to fires at Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and two Kuwaiti oil refineries, in response to an Israeli strike on Iran’s primary natural gas field. This marks a significant intensification in the Middle East conflict, causing a surge in global fuel prices.
In separate incidents, a ship caught fire near the coast of the United Arab Emirates, while another vessel was damaged off the coast of Qatar. These events highlight the ongoing risks that ships face due to Iran’s control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar, a major supplier of natural gas to global markets, reported that firefighters managed to extinguish a blaze at a crucial LNG facility, which had been struck by Iranian missiles. Although production had already been suspended due to previous attacks, the new missile strikes resulted in “sizeable fires and extensive further damage,” according to Qatari officials.
The inflicted damage may impede Qatar’s ability to deliver its natural gas supplies to the market, even after the end of hostilities involving Iran.
In Kuwait, the state-run KUNA news agency confirmed that a drone attack on the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery ignited a fire, although no casualties were reported. With a production capacity of 730,000 barrels per day, this refinery ranks among the largest in the Middle East. Shortly thereafter, authorities reported another drone strike that set the nearby Mina Abdullah refinery ablaze.
Authorities in Abu Dhabi said they were forced to shut down operations at its Habshan gas facility and Bab field, calling Iranian overnight attacks on the sites a “dangerous escalation.”
Missile alert sirens sounded in multiple other areas around the Gulf, and Israel warned of incoming Iranian fire.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all denounced the Iranian attacks, with Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat saying assaults on the kingdom meant “what little trust there was before has completely been shattered.”
In morning trading, Brent crude oil, the international standard, was above $110 a barrel, up more than 50% since Israel and the United States started the war Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran.
The wave of Iranian attacks came after Israel hit South Pars, the world’s largest gas field located offshore in the Persian Gulf and owned jointly by Iran and Qatar.
With some 80% of all power generated in Iran coming from natural gas, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, the attack directly threatens the country’s electricity supplies. Natural gas is also used to supply household heating and cooking across the Islamic Republic.
Hitting the gas field is a “clear expansion of the conflict,” the New York-based Soufan Center said in a research note.
“Israel’s target selection in this war has heavily focused on the institutions, leaders and infrastructure …” the think tank said. “It now seeks to inflict additional pressure on the regime by making the living conditions for civilians intolerable.”
Iran condemned the strike on South Pars, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warning of “uncontrollable consequences” that “could engulf the entire world.”
In Washington, President Donald Trump said that Israel would not attack South Pars again, but warned on social media that if Iran continued striking Qatar’s energy infrastructure, the US would retaliate and “massively blow up the entirety” of the field.
“I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran,” Trump said on social media.