Iran threw Gulf energy security into serious doubt on Wednesday after Israeli forces struck the South Pars gasfield — the world’s largest natural gas reserve — and the Revolutionary Guards responded with sweeping threats against energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Specific targets were named and evacuation orders issued. Oil prices climbed toward $110 a barrel as the doubt over Gulf energy security spread to global markets.
South Pars is shared between Iran and Qatar and has been central to Iran’s energy exports throughout the conflict. The Israeli strike — reportedly with US authorization — was the first deliberate attack on Iranian fossil fuel production since the war began. Both countries had previously avoided this step, but the decision to proceed triggered Iran’s most detailed and alarming retaliatory threat of the entire conflict.
Named targets included Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan installations. Workers and residents near these facilities were told to evacuate without any delay. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar condemned the US-Israeli escalation as “political suicide” and said the war had entered a “full-scale economic” phase with consequences that would extend far beyond the immediate conflict zone.
Oil prices rose to $108.60 per barrel on Wednesday afternoon, while European gas markets jumped more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had already been slashed by 60% from pre-war levels, the product of sustained infrastructure strikes and Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had continued shipping its own crude through the strait unimpeded while preventing Gulf neighbors from doing so — a strategic asymmetry that had persisted throughout the conflict and threatened to be exploited further.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that attacking energy infrastructure was a grave threat to global energy security and the welfare of regional populations. The doubt Iran had thrown over Gulf energy security was not merely rhetorical — it was backed by specific targets, evacuation orders, and a declared intention to act within hours. The world’s energy markets, already under severe stress, had entered a moment of maximum uncertainty.