The most dangerous phase of the Middle East war opened on Wednesday when Iran threatened the Gulf’s entire energy grid after Israeli forces struck the South Pars gasfield. The Revolutionary Guards named specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar as imminent targets and ordered immediate evacuation. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the threat to the Gulf’s energy grid raised fears of a supply disruption that could reshape global energy markets for years.
South Pars holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves and is shared between Iran and Qatar. The Israeli strike — reportedly with US backing — was the first direct attack on Iranian fossil fuel production in the conflict. Both countries had carefully avoided this move, but the decision to strike South Pars opened the most dangerous phase of the war — one in which the entire Gulf energy grid was placed under direct military threat.
Iran’s state media identified Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities as targets. All workers and residents near these sites were told to leave without delay. Governor Eskandar Pasalar of Asaluyeh called the US-Israeli attack “political suicide” and declared the conflict had entered a full-scale economic war.
Brent crude rose to $108.60 per barrel — close to $110 — while European gas prices jumped more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had already been slashed by 60% from pre-war volumes 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 from doing so. The threat of Iranian strikes on Gulf energy grid facilities raised fears of a complete collapse in regional energy export capacity.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that attacking energy infrastructure endangered global energy security and the welfare of millions. The most dangerous phase of the war had arrived — one defined not by military confrontation alone, but by the deliberate targeting of the energy infrastructure that powered the global economy. With specific targets named, evacuation orders issued, and Iran’s retaliatory clock running, the world faced a moment of maximum peril.