DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran accused Israel of attacking facilities at its South Pars gas field on Wednesday and responded by launching missiles toward energy targets in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, sharply escalating the U.S.-Israeli war against Tehran and heightening fears of a broader disruption in global energy supplies.
According to Reuters, QatarEnergy reported “extensive damage” after Iranian missiles struck Ras Laffan Industrial City, a major center of the country’s energy industry. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles fired toward Riyadh, as well as a drone targeting a gas facility in the eastern part of the kingdom.
South Pars forms Iran’s side of the world’s largest natural gas field, which it shares with Qatar across the Gulf. Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the reported Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars facilities as “dangerous and irresponsible,” while also denouncing Iran’s missile attack on Qatari territory as “a flagrant breach” of international law. Doha also expelled two senior Iranian diplomats.
The latest escalation has intensified turmoil in global energy markets, with Brent crude rising by around 5 percent to above $108 per barrel and stock markets moving lower. The conflict has already disrupted shipping from one of the world’s most critical energy-producing regions, and concerns are mounting that long-term damage to oil and gas infrastructure could worsen supply shocks.
The crisis also raises political pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump, who joined Israel’s military campaign against Iran nearly four weeks ago. In Washington, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that while Iran’s government had been weakened since the war began on February 28, it remained intact and still capable of attacking U.S. military bases and other American interests in the Middle East.
Israel has not publicly claimed responsibility for the South Pars strike. However, the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported that Trump had prior knowledge of Israel’s plan and supported it.
Iran’s Fars news agency said gas tanks and parts of a refinery at South Pars were hit. It added that workers were evacuated and that the fire was later brought under control.
Tehran then issued a warning naming several energy installations in neighboring Gulf states as what it called “direct and legitimate targets.” These included Saudi Arabia’s Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex, the UAE’s Al Hosn Gas Field, and Qatar’s Mesaieed Petrochemical Complex, Mesaieed Holding Company, and Ras Laffan. Iran warned that these sites should be evacuated immediately.
Until now, the United States and Israel had largely refrained from targeting Iran’s Gulf energy production facilities, a restraint widely seen as an effort to avoid provoking direct retaliation against the oil and gas sectors of neighboring states hosting U.S. military forces. International law prohibits attacks on civilian energy infrastructure.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken with the emir of Qatar and Trump on Thursday and urged a “moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure,” particularly water and energy facilities.
Iran has also effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and stressed that safe passage through the strait was a top European priority, while reiterating support for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
The wider regional war continued on other fronts as well. Israeli forces carried out major airstrikes in central Beirut, flattening a building in the Bachoura district that Israel said was being used by Hezbollah. A resident identified as Abu Khalil told Reuters the attack appeared intended “to hurt, to terrify people, to terrify children.”
Israel also said it killed Iranian intelligence minister Esmail Khatib on Wednesday, a day after announcing the killing of senior security official Ali Larijani. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that “no one in Iran has immunity and everyone is in the crosshairs,” adding that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorized the military to target any senior Iranian official whenever an operational opportunity emerged.
In Tehran, thousands reportedly gathered for the funeral of Larijani and other senior figures killed in the conflict.
Iran has continued retaliatory attacks on Israel, including the firing of cluster missiles, which are more difficult to intercept. Shortly after midnight Thursday, Israel’s ambulance service said a foreign national was killed in Adanim in central Israel, bringing the death toll in Israel to at least 15. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, three Palestinian women were also killed in what the Palestinian Red Crescent described as the first deadly Iranian strike in the territory.
The human cost of the war continues to mount across the region. U.S.-based rights group HRANA said on Monday that more than 3,000 people had been killed in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli attacks began on February 28. Lebanese authorities said 900 people had been killed there and 800,000 displaced, while Iranian attacks have also caused deaths in Iraq and across the Gulf states. At least 13 U.S. military personnel have reportedly been killed so far.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
