Energy workers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar were placed on evacuation alert Wednesday after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened imminent strikes on their facilities following an Israeli attack on the South Pars gasfield. Specific refineries and gas installations were named as targets. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the conflict moved into its most economically dangerous phase yet.
The South Pars gasfield, the world’s largest natural gas reserve shared between Iran and Qatar, had been left untouched throughout the conflict. The Israeli strike on the field — reportedly with US consent — was the first time Iran’s fossil fuel sector had been directly targeted. Both countries had previously avoided this move, but the decision to proceed represented a strategic shift that immediately triggered Iran’s most sweeping and specific military threat of the war.
Iran’s state broadcaster named the Samref refinery and Jubail complex in Saudi Arabia, al-Hosn gasfield in the UAE, and Mesaieed and Ras Laffan in Qatar as imminent targets. Workers and residents were told to leave without delay. Iran’s Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli strike “political suicide” and declared the war had become a full-scale economic conflict.
Oil prices climbed to $108.60 per barrel — a nearly 5% gain — while European gas benchmarks jumped more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war volumes due to infrastructure damage and Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had continued exporting its own crude unimpeded while blocking neighboring states’ shipments, creating a severe strategic imbalance that had given Tehran a significant economic weapon throughout the conflict.
Qatar’s government spokesperson Majid al-Ansari called on the international community to protect energy infrastructure, warning that attacks on these sites threatened global energy security. The conflict had arrived at a moment where the human, economic, and strategic consequences converged in the Gulf’s most critical energy corridors. With Iran’s deadline approaching, the world awaited the outcome of the most dangerous energy standoff the region had faced in decades.