Iran’s energy war threat against Gulf states came on top of an already crippled oil supply system on Wednesday, following an Israeli attack on the South Pars gasfield. The Revolutionary Guards named specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar as imminent targets and ordered immediate evacuation. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as Iran’s threat threatened to push a crippled system past the point of recovery.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, is shared between Iran and Qatar. The Israeli attack — reportedly with US consent — was the first direct strike on Iranian fossil fuel production in the conflict. Both countries had deliberately avoided this move, but crossing this line triggered Iran’s most specific and threatening military declaration of the war — one that came at a moment when global oil supply was already severely diminished.
Iran’s state broadcaster named Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities as targets for strikes within hours. All workers and residents near these sites were ordered to leave immediately. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli escalation “political suicide” and declared the conflict had entered a full-scale economic warfare phase.
The already crippled supply picture was stark: Gulf oil exports had fallen 60% from pre-war levels due to sustained infrastructure attacks and Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade. Iran had maintained its own crude exports through the strait while blocking Gulf neighbors from doing so. Brent crude had already traded above $116 a barrel earlier in the conflict and climbed to $108.60 per barrel Wednesday, while European gas markets surged more than 7.5%. Iran’s new threats raised the real possibility of pushing the supply system into complete collapse.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure was a grave threat to global energy security, the environment, and millions of regional residents. The already crippled oil supply system had been pushed to its limits by months of conflict and Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade — and Iran’s energy war threat now threatened to deliver the final blow. The world’s energy markets and the governments that depended on them had never been more vulnerable.
