Global markets were kept on edge Wednesday as Iran’s direct energy war threat against Gulf states followed an Israeli attack on the South Pars gasfield — the world’s largest natural gas reserve. 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 and remained volatile as the threat’s full implications were assessed.
South Pars, jointly managed between Iran and Qatar, has been central to Iran’s energy economy since long before the conflict began. The Israeli attack on the field — reportedly with US consent — was unprecedented in its targeting of Iranian fossil fuel production. Both countries had previously held back from this step, but the decision to proceed triggered Iran’s most specific and time-bound retaliatory declaration of the war.
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 in the coming hours. All personnel were instructed to leave immediately. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli strike “political suicide” and said the war had entered a full-scale economic phase.
Brent crude climbed to $108.60 per barrel, while European gas benchmarks jumped more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had already been reduced by 60% from pre-war volumes due to sustained infrastructure attacks and Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait unimpeded while blocking Gulf neighbors’ exports — a strategic imbalance that had given it significant economic leverage throughout the conflict and now threatened to be leveraged further.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure was a threat to global energy security, the environment, and millions of regional residents. With global markets on edge and Iran’s deadline running, the tension in the Gulf’s energy sector was at its highest point of the entire conflict. The world watched, knowing that the events of the next few hours could determine the direction of global energy markets — and the global economy — for years to come.