Iran threatened to engulf the Gulf’s entire energy sector in conflict on Wednesday, announcing imminent strikes against energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar after Israeli forces struck the South Pars gasfield. The Revolutionary Guards named specific targets and told workers and residents to leave immediately. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the extent of Iran’s threat became apparent.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve and a shared asset between Iran and Qatar, had been kept off the battlefield until Wednesday. The Israeli strike — reportedly authorized by Washington — was the first direct attack on Iranian fossil fuel production and ended a key constraint that had limited the conflict’s impact on global energy markets. Iran’s response was swift and unambiguous.
Named targets included Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities. Iran’s state media broadcast the list alongside urgent evacuation orders. Governor Pasalar of Asaluyeh said the conflict had entered a “full-scale economic war” phase and described the US-Israeli escalation as “political suicide.”
Brent crude climbed nearly 5% to $108.60 per barrel, while European gas prices rose more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war levels, with the Strait of Hormuz blockaded and multiple energy facilities across the region damaged or destroyed. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait while blocking its neighbors’ shipments, creating a significant strategic imbalance in the conflict.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure threatened global energy security and the environment. The breadth and specificity of Iran’s threats left little doubt that the conflict had moved into a new and far more dangerous phase. For global energy markets, governments, and economies dependent on Gulf oil and gas, the coming hours carried consequences that could reshape the world’s energy order for years.
