Gulf energy sat at the epicenter of a new and dangerous crisis on Wednesday after Iran threatened sweeping strikes against regional infrastructure following Israeli bombing of the South Pars gasfield. The Revolutionary Guards named specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar as targets and ordered immediate evacuation. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the epicenter of the global energy crisis shifted squarely to the Gulf.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, is shared between Iran and Qatar and has been the backbone of Iran’s energy economy throughout the conflict. The Israeli bombing — reportedly with US consent — was the first direct attack on Iranian fossil fuel production. Washington and Tel Aviv had previously treated energy infrastructure as off-limits, but that policy had changed — with immediate and alarming consequences for the entire Gulf energy system.
Threatened sites named by Iran’s state media included Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities. All workers and residents were told to leave without delay. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli action “political suicide” and declared Iran was now fighting a full-scale economic war on behalf of its energy and national interests.
Brent crude rose nearly 5% to $108.60 per barrel, while European gas benchmarks jumped more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war levels due to sustained infrastructure attacks and Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had maintained its own crude exports through the strait unimpeded while preventing Gulf neighbors from doing so — a strategic imbalance that had given Tehran a powerful economic lever throughout the conflict.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure endangered global energy security and regional populations. With Gulf energy at the epicenter of the crisis and Iran’s retaliatory clock running, the world faced a moment of maximum uncertainty and economic danger. The events of the coming hours would determine whether the crisis could be contained — or whether the epicenter would expand to engulf the global energy system entirely.