Iran threatened its Gulf neighbors with energy attacks on Wednesday after an Israeli strike crossed what officials described as an economic red line at the South Pars gasfield — the world’s largest natural gas reserve. The Revolutionary Guards announced imminent strikes against facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar and ordered evacuations. Oil markets surged toward $110 a barrel as the crisis deepened.
South Pars, shared between Iran and Qatar, had been kept out of the conflict by a tacit agreement to protect energy infrastructure. Israel’s strike on the field — reportedly with US consent — ended that agreement and provoked Iran’s most explicit military threat of the war. Analysts said the move was designed to weaken Iran economically but risked triggering a retaliatory chain reaction with global consequences.
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. State media issued public evacuation orders with urgency. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar described the US-Israeli strike as “political suicide” and declared the war had entered a full-scale economic phase from which neither side could easily step back.
Brent crude climbed nearly 5% to $108.60 a barrel, with European gas prices rising more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had fallen 60% from pre-war levels due to infrastructure damage and Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had continued shipping its own crude through the strait unimpeded, while Gulf neighbors struggled to export any at all. Any successful strikes on Gulf energy sites would deepen an already severe global supply disruption.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure was a threat to global energy security, regional populations, and the environment. The world now faced a conflict that had moved far beyond its military origins into the economic and energy domain. With specific targets named, evacuation orders issued, and a timeline set, the Gulf’s energy war had entered its most dangerous hour.