Global energy markets braced for their worst-case scenario on Wednesday as Iran threatened to strike Gulf energy facilities in response to an Israeli attack on the South Pars gasfield. The Revolutionary Guards named specific targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar and ordered immediate evacuations. Oil prices rose toward $110 a barrel as traders scrambled to assess the potential consequences.
The South Pars gasfield is the world’s largest natural gas reserve and the backbone of Iran’s energy export economy. Israel’s strike on the field — reportedly carried out with US consent — was the first time Iran’s fossil fuel sector had been directly targeted in the war. Until now, both sides had maintained a tacit agreement to leave energy infrastructure off the battlefield, understanding that targeting it could trigger a catastrophic economic chain reaction.
Iran’s state broadcaster announced that Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities would be hit within hours. All workers and residents were ordered to evacuate immediately. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli escalation “political suicide” and said the conflict had evolved into a full-scale economic war.
Brent crude rose to $108.60 a barrel, while European gas benchmarks surged more than 7.5%. These moves came atop a week during which oil had briefly pushed past $116 a barrel — its highest level since May 2022. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war levels, with the Strait of Hormuz blockaded and multiple energy facilities struck. Iran’s new threats raised the prospect of a further collapse in Gulf energy supply.
Qatar’s government spokesperson Majid al-Ansari warned that targeting energy infrastructure was a threat to global energy security and regional welfare. As Iran’s countdown began, the world’s energy markets were left trying to price in a scenario with no modern precedent: a full-scale energy infrastructure war in the Gulf, the region that powers much of the global economy. The stakes had never been higher.