Iran turned energy into a weapon of war on Wednesday, threatening to strike the Gulf’s most critical oil and gas infrastructure after Israeli forces bombed the South Pars gasfield for the first time. The Revolutionary Guards named specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar and ordered their workers to evacuate. Oil prices climbed toward $110 a barrel as the conflict entered its most economically consequential phase.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve shared between Iran and Qatar, had been carefully kept off the battlefield by both sides throughout the conflict. Israel’s decision to strike it — reportedly with US approval — ended that restraint and provoked Iran’s most sweeping and specific military threat of the entire war. The move reflected a calculated shift in strategy by Washington and Tel Aviv — one that would have profound consequences for global energy markets.
Iran’s state media named Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities as imminent targets. Evacuation orders were broadcast publicly and directed at all citizens, residents, and employees. Governor Eskandar Pasalar of Asaluyeh called the US-Israeli strike “political suicide” and declared the war had entered a full-scale economic phase.
Brent crude rose to $108.60 a barrel — nearly 5% higher — while European gas prices climbed more than 7.5% to over €55.50 per megawatt hour. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war levels, decimated by infrastructure attacks and Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait unimpeded, while its Gulf neighbors struggled to export anything at all. Further Iranian strikes on Gulf facilities threatened to turn a supply crisis into a catastrophe.
Qatar’s government spokesperson Majid al-Ansari warned that targeting energy infrastructure was a direct threat to global energy security and the welfare of the region’s populations. With Iran’s energy weapon now drawn and specific targets in its sights, the world faced a scenario it had long feared — a full-scale energy infrastructure war in the heart of the Gulf. The coming hours would determine the full cost of the escalation that began when the first Israeli missile struck South Pars.