Iran identified exact Gulf energy targets for retaliation on Wednesday after Israeli forces bombed the South Pars gasfield — the world’s largest natural gas reserve. The Revolutionary Guards publicly named specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar and ordered workers and residents to evacuate. Oil prices surged nearly 5% to $108.60 a barrel as the identification of exact targets gave Iran’s threat a frightening degree of specificity and credibility.
South Pars, jointly managed between Iran and Qatar, has been the backbone of Iran’s gas export revenues throughout the conflict. The Israeli bombing — reportedly with US consent — was unprecedented in its targeting of Iranian fossil fuel production. Both Washington and Tel Aviv had previously treated energy infrastructure as off-limits, but the decision to change that policy immediately triggered Iran’s most detailed retaliatory announcement of the war.
Exact targets listed 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 personnel were told to evacuate without any delay. Governor Eskandar Pasalar of Asaluyeh called the US-Israeli strike “political suicide” and declared the conflict had entered a full-scale economic war phase.
Brent crude climbed to $108.60 per barrel, while European gas markets 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 continued to export its own crude through the strait unimpeded while preventing Gulf neighbors from doing so — a strategic advantage that had given it significant economic leverage throughout the conflict.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that attacking energy infrastructure threatened global energy security, the environment, and the lives of millions across the region. The identification of exact targets by name gave Iran’s retaliation threat a level of seriousness that set it apart from earlier declarations. With evacuation orders issued and a tight window set, the world faced the prospect of the Gulf’s most devastating energy infrastructure attack yet.