World leaders were shocked on Wednesday as Iran issued a retaliatory declaration against Gulf energy infrastructure following an Israeli strike on the South Pars gasfield. The Revolutionary Guards named specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar as imminent targets and ordered evacuation. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the declaration sent diplomatic channels into emergency mode and energy markets into a state of acute alarm.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, is shared between Iran and Qatar. The Israeli strike — reportedly conducted with US authorization — was unprecedented in its targeting of Iranian fossil fuel production. Both countries had previously avoided this step, but the decision to proceed triggered Iran’s most specific and credible retaliatory declaration of the entire conflict — one that shocked world leaders with its scope and specificity.
Named targets included Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities. All workers and residents were told to evacuate without any delay. Governor Eskandar Pasalar of Asaluyeh called the US-Israeli escalation “political suicide” and declared the conflict had entered a full-scale economic war phase.
Brent crude rose to $108.60 per barrel — a nearly 5% gain — while European gas prices surged more than 7.5% to above €55.50 per megawatt hour. Gulf oil exports had already been reduced by 60% from pre-war levels due to sustained infrastructure attacks and Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait unimpeded while blocking Gulf neighbors’ exports — a strategic weapon that had given it significant leverage throughout the conflict.
Qatar’s government spokesperson Majid al-Ansari warned that attacking energy infrastructure was a threat to global energy security, the environment, and the welfare of millions. The shock felt by world leaders reflected the gravity of what was unfolding in the Gulf — a conflict that had crossed into energy warfare and that now threatened to reshape global supply and pricing in ways that would be felt in every corner of the world. Diplomatic channels were working at maximum intensity to contain the crisis.