Iran intensified its attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure on Thursday, striking major liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Qatar and gas installations in the United Arab Emirates hours after Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed that “every drop of spilled blood comes at a price” following the killing of Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani.
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Missile strikes set parts of Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas complex, one of the world’s largest LNG hubs, ablaze, forcing authorities to battle “sizeable fires and extensive further damage”, QatarEnergy said. Production at the facility had already been halted following earlier attacks.
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Civil defence teams later said the fires were contained without casualties, but the damage could delay Qatar’s ability to resume gas exports even after the war ends.
At the same time, the United Arab Emirates said it had shut down operations at its Habshan gas facility and the Bab oil and gas field after Iranian missiles were intercepted over the sites. Abu Dhabi condemned the overnight attacks as a “dangerous escalation” in the widening Middle East conflict.
The strikes marked a significant expansion of the war into the Gulf’s energy lifelines, threatening global fuel supplies and sending oil prices soaring.
Energy war spreads across the Gulf
The wave of Iranian attacks came after Israel struck Iran’s massive South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf – the world’s largest gas reserve, shared with Qatar. The strike directly threatens Iran’s energy system, with natural gas accounting for roughly 80% of the country’s power generation.
Iran condemned the attack, with President Masoud Pezeshkian warning of “uncontrollable consequences” that could “engulf the entire world”.
The New York-based Soufan Center think tank said the Israeli strike represented a “clear expansion of the conflict”, as Israel increasingly targets infrastructure alongside Iranian leaders and military institutions.
Iran responded by launching missile barrages across the Gulf. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted Iranian drones targeting its natural gas facilities, while missile alerts sounded across several Gulf states.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all condemned the attacks on energy infrastructure, with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister saying the assaults had shattered “what little trust there was before”.
Ships burning near Strait of Hormuz
The conflict also spread to maritime routes. A vessel caught fire off the coast of the United Arab Emirates near Khor Fakkan, close to the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, while another ship was damaged off Qatar.
It was unclear whether the vessels were directly targeted or struck by debris during missile interceptions.
More than 20 ships have been attacked since the war began as Iran tightened control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz – the narrow shipping channel through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
Iran insists the waterway remains open, though primarily to ships not linked to the United States or its allies.
Khamenei vows retaliation
The attack on the Qatar and UAE LNG facilities followed the killing of Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani in an Israeli strike. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned the United States and Israel they would “pay” for the assassination.
“Every drop of spilled blood comes at a price,” Khamenei said in a statement, adding that the “criminal murderers of these martyrs will soon have to pay”.
Israel has also killed Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and senior Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani as part of its campaign against the Iranian leadership.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said further strikes against senior Iranian officials were coming, promising “significant surprises”.
Oil prices surge as global markets rattle
The growing attacks on energy infrastructure have rattled global markets. Brent crude surged above $110 per barrel in morning trading – more than 50% higher since Israel and the United States began strikes on Iran on February 28.
In Washington, President Donald Trump said Israel would not strike the South Pars gas field again, but warned Tehran against further attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure.
“If Iran continues striking Qatar’s facilities, we will massively blow up the entirety of the field,” Trump wrote on social media, referring to South Pars.
“I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long-term implications it will have on the future of Iran,” he added.
Rising toll of war
The conflict has already taken a heavy toll across the region. More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.
Israeli strikes have displaced more than one million people in Lebanon, where authorities say nearly 1,000 people have been killed.
In Israel, at least 14 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire, while the United States has lost at least 13 military personnel during the conflict.
