Amid the ongoing military escalation in West Asia, multiple oil and gas facilities in countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar have reportedly come under threat after the Iranian military said it would target energy facilities in the Gulf following an attack on its gas field.
This comes after natural gas facilities associated with Iran’s massive offshore South Pars natural gas field were attacked Wednesday, Iranian state media reported. The South Pars/ North Dome gas field is the world’s largest natural gas field, the ownership of which is shared by Qatar and Iran.
Among the locations flagged are:
- Samref Refinery in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Al-Hasan Gas Field in the United Arab Emirates
- Jubail Petrochemical Complex in Jubail, Saudi Arabia
- Mesaieed Petrochemical Complex and Mesaieed Holding Company (affiliated with Chevron) in Qatar, Tehran times reported.
- Ras Laffan Refinery (Phases 1 and 2) – Qatar
Qatar blames Israel for attack on Pars gas field
Following the strikes, Qatar’s foreign minister blamed Israel for the attack, calling it “dangerous and irresponsible.”
Iran has also confirmed damage to its infrastructure. A spokesperson for the Central Headquarters of Khatam al-Anbiya stated, “The criminal enemy attacked part of Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure in the south of the country.”
Esmail Khatib ‘killed’
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said Iranian intelligence minister Esmail Khatib had been killed in overnight strikes on Tehran, while warning that “surprises can be expected this day on all the fronts.”
Katz said other senior officials in Khatib’s ministry were also “eliminated throughout the operation.”
This came after Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani was also killed in overnight Israeli strikes the previous day. Following this, Iran continued to pound central Israel and its Gulf neighbours . Apart from Larijani, his son Mortaza Larijani and Alireza Bayat, the deputy for national security, were also killed.
On the Iranian officials’ deaths, Trump said, “Their leaders are gone. It’s an evil group.”
Soon after, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, rejected de-escalation proposals, saying that this was not the “right time for peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s air force said it completed a wave of “wide-scale airstrikes” and hit “command centres” in Tehran.
On the other hand, the United States said late Tuesday that it hit Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz with “multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions”. The US Central Command said that the Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites “posed a risk to international shipping in the strait”.
Iran targets commercial ships
Iran reportedly attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf on Wednesday as its war with the United States continued spilling into the Middle East region.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said that three vessels were hit with suspected projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf on Wednesday.
