This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows the oil infrastructure at Saudi Arabia's western Red Sea port of Yanbu on March 4, 2026. (Credit: 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This is a new development in the war with Iran, which could have far-reaching consequences.
On Wednesday, Iranian state television reported that an Israeli-American strike had hit Iranian facilities in the vast South Pars-North Dome gas field, the largest known gas reserve in the world, which Iran shares with Qatar.
“Just moments ago, certain parts of the gas facilities” in the South Pars-North Dome field, located in the port city of Kangan, “were struck by projectiles from the American-Zionist enemy,” the television said, citing the deputy governor of Iran’s southern Bushehr province. It added that firefighting teams had been dispatched to control the blaze.
In response, Iran warned that it would target energy infrastructure in its Gulf neighbors. “We are considering targeting the fuel, energy, and gas infrastructure of the countries from which the attacks were launched,” said the joint command center, Khatam al-Anbiya, in a statement, as Tehran accuses Gulf states of allowing U.S. forces to use their territory to strike Iran.
State television published a list of potential targets, including oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, saying they “have become direct and legitimate targets and will be hit in the coming hours.”
The South Pars-North Dome gas field supplies about 70 percent of the natural gas consumed in Iran, which has been exploiting it since the late 1990s. Israel had previously struck Iranian facilities at this site during the 12-day war of June 2025.
Rising oil prices
If confirmation were needed of the significance of this development, oil prices rose on Wednesday following the announcement of the strike. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 4.38 percent at $107,95 per barrel around 13:20 GMT, shortly after jumping more than 5 percent. Its U.S. equivalent, West Texas Intermediate, gained 1,87 percent to $98.01 per barrel.
Doha and Abu Dhabi condemn the strike
In the Gulf, Qatar condemned the attacks on Iranian facilities. “Israel’s targeting of installations linked to Iran’s South Pars gas field, which extends into the Qatari field, is a dangerous and irresponsible act in the current context of military escalation in the region,” wrote Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on X. “Targeting energy infrastructure poses a threat to global energy security, to the people of the region, and to the environment,” he added.
A little later, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that facilities at Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas complex were being evacuated.
Abu Dhabi also condemned the attack, describing it as “a dangerous escalation.” “Targeting energy infrastructure poses a direct threat to global energy security… It also causes serious environmental consequences and puts civilians, maritime security, and vital civil and industrial facilities at direct risk,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
In the afternoon, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity reported that Iran had cut all gas supplies to Iraq.
