Iran Threatens to Attack All Energy Facilities in Gulf Countries, Here's the Reason
A spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s attack on Iran’s offshore gas field as a “dangerous and irresponsible step”.
Iran has threatened to attack oil and gas facilities in the Gulf region in response to Israel’s strike on its South Pars gas field, as the impact of the US-Israel war on the country continues to intensify.
In a statement shared by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency on Wednesday, Iranian authorities said that five facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar “will be targeted in the coming hours”.
Those facilities are Saudi Arabia’s SAMREF refinery and Jubail petrochemical complex, the UAE’s Al Hosn gas field, and Qatar’s Ras Laffan refinery and Mesaieed petrochemical complex along with its parent company.
The threat comes after Iranian state media reported that a natural gas facility linked to the offshore South Pars gas field – the world’s largest gas field, located off the coast of Bushehr province in southern Iran – had been attacked.
In a statement shared by Tasnim, Iran’s Oil Ministry said several facilities sustained damage but no immediate casualties were reported. Iranian state media also reported that a fire at the gas field had been brought under control.
Citing unnamed sources, Israeli media reported that the country’s air force carried out the strike.
Israel and the US have carried out strikes on various targets across Iran, including oil facilities, since the war began on 28 February.
Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks on countries in the Middle East, including Arab Gulf states, have also continued despite growing concerns about the widening conflict’s impact on global energy markets.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway in the Gulf through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes – has caused energy prices to surge.
While Iran said it had fired on US military assets in the area, Gulf leaders have repeatedly condemned the attacks as violations of international law and said they targeted civilian infrastructure.
Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, on Wednesday condemned Israel for targeting South Pars, noting that Iran’s gas field is an extension of Qatar’s North Field.
The attack marks a “dangerous and irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region”, al-Ansari said in a statement shared on social media.
“Targeting energy infrastructure poses a threat to global energy security, as well as to the people of the region and its environment,” he wrote.
“We reiterate, as we have repeatedly emphasised, the need to avoid targeting vital facilities. We call on all parties to exercise restraint, comply with international law, and work towards de-escalation in a manner that preserves the region’s security and stability.”
Reporting from Dubai, Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi said Gulf countries are trying to “find a way out” to help end the war.
However, Basravi said: “No matter how many voices try to call for a solution through negotiation, unless there’s a cessation of targeting and fighting by both sides, there’s really no room to discuss how to move forward.”
“What we’re likely to see is these countries trying to apply more political pressure, more diplomatic pressure – not just on Iran, but also on the United States – to try to pull back from the conflict.”
He noted that Saudi Arabia will host a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries and Muslim-majority nations in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.
“Today’s events will certainly make this meeting much more urgent, much more timely, and likely much more tense,” Basravi said.