DOHA / KUWAIT CITY — Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones at energy infrastructure across at least four Gulf states on Thursday, according to statements from QatarEnergy, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Saudi Aramco, and the UAE government, with the coordinated strikes causing confirmed fires at major refineries and disrupting global gas shipments in retaliation for an Israeli air strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field on Wednesday, March 18.
The scale of the counterattack caught markets off guard. Brent crude surged to nearly $115 per barrel — a jump of $7 in a single session — while Asian spot LNG prices threaten to breach $26 per million British thermal units, according to Bloomberg’s energy market coverage. For buyers in Europe and Asia, which already halted LNG receipts after earlier strikes paused Qatar’s exports, the latest damage could keep supplies constrained for weeks.
Iran Targets Ras Laffan Facility Twice in 12 Hours
Qatar bore the worst of it. QatarEnergy confirmed that Iranian ballistic missiles struck Ras Laffan Industrial City — north of Doha and home to roughly one-fifth of global LNG supply — twice within 12 hours, igniting three separate fires and causing what the company described as “extensive damage.” Emergency teams confirmed no injuries, but Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs moved swiftly: it declared Iran’s military and security attachés persona non grata, ordering them to leave within 24 hours, and labeled the strikes “a direct threat to national security.”
The diplomatic fallout cuts deep. Qatar had previously halted LNG production after a March 2 strike — and had already declared force majeure on deliveries, shielding it contractually from breach claims — when the Thursday assault arrived. That earlier shutdown, largely underreported in wire coverage, means buyers who assumed Qatari exports might resume by mid-March are now facing a second, more severe disruption with no confirmed restart timeline.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE Also Struck
The wider pattern of strikes confirms Iran is systematically working down a published target list. Outlets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had earlier circulated specific facility names, and Thursday’s attacks tracked almost exactly against them:
- Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery — a drone struck an operational unit, starting a limited fire that was contained with no injuries, per Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
- Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah Refinery — a second drone hit within hours
- SAMREF Refinery, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia — an aerial attack targeted the Saudi Aramco–ExxonMobil joint venture that processes over 400,000 barrels per day; an industry source reported minimal impact
- Habshan Gas Facility, UAE — operations halted after a drone interception
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh.
[IMAGE — BODY | AI-GENERATED]
IMAGE PROMPT: Editorial news photograph of oil refinery in Kuwait at night with emergency response vehicles and distant smoke plumes, documentary style, no text overlays.
CAPTION: Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries were struck by Iranian drones on Thursday; fires at both facilities were contained with no reported casualties.
ALT TEXT: Oil refinery at night with visible fire and emergency response vehicles on site.
IMAGE SOURCE: AI-generated illustrative image
The Strategic Asymmetry Behind South Pars
What mainstream coverage has largely glossed over is how this crisis reframes the entire conflict’s logic. Analysis reviewed by reporters from Iran International and verified by regional energy experts points to a deliberate Israeli strategy: rather than targeting Iran’s nuclear program or military command, the strike on South Pars — and its onshore hub at Asaluyeh in Bushehr Province — struck the economic core.
South Pars, shared geologically with Qatar’s North Dome, holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of gas and 50 billion barrels of condensate. It provides approximately 80% of Iran’s domestic electricity generation. Israel has limited comparable domestic energy infrastructure vulnerable to mirror retaliation — a strategic asymmetry that leaves Iran unable to strike back symmetrically, forcing it to impose costs across the wider Gulf instead.
Trump Distances Washington, Then Issues Ultimatum
U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Washington had no prior knowledge of the South Pars strike, claiming Israel “acted out of anger.” He ordered Israel not to target Iranian gas infrastructure again — while simultaneously threatening to “massively blow up” the entirety of South Pars if Iran struck Qatar’s Ras Laffan a second time.
That caveat matters. Separately, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal that Trump was in fact briefed on the South Pars operation before it launched and endorsed it as a pressure signal over Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz — directly contradicting the president’s public account. Neither the White House nor Israeli officials responded to requests for clarification on the timing.
“Iran has understood the message,” one U.S. official told the Journal, though the official said Trump “might reconsider” further strikes depending on Tehran’s conduct in the Strait.
Hormuz Closure Narrows Europe’s Remaining Options
The wider energy picture is darker than the refinery fires alone suggest. Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz — normally carrying one-fifth of global oil supply — when the war escalated in late February. That left Yanbu on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast and the UAE’s Port of Fujairah as the two surviving bypass export outlets. Thursday’s strike on SAMREF at Yanbu directly threatened one of those two remaining lifelines. Fujairah has already suffered “a series of attacks” that suspended operations there.
The Arab League condemned Iran’s attacks on Thursday as “heinous” and demanded Tehran stop targeting civilian infrastructure. Saudi Arabia, for its part, issued a warning about a “possible military response,” with a government spokesman stating the “minimal trust that existed in Iran has been utterly destroyed.”
A ship off Qatar’s coast was also struck by a projectile on Thursday morning. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre confirmed the crew was safe but said it remained unclear whether the vessel was deliberately targeted or caught by falling debris from Qatar’s missile interceptors. That detail — a possible friendly-fire incident during air defense operations — has not been addressed by Qatari authorities.
The war entered its 20th day on Thursday. No ceasefire talks are publicly confirmed. Qatar has demanded Iran’s attachés leave within 24 hours; whether Tehran complies or escalates further remains unanswered.
