Saudi Arabia and Gulf energy giants were named as war targets by Iran on Wednesday after the South Pars gasfield was hit by Israeli forces for the first time. The Revolutionary Guards announced imminent strikes against specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar and issued evacuation orders. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the naming of Gulf energy giants as explicit war targets alarmed markets and governments worldwide.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, is shared between Iran and Qatar. The Israeli attack — reportedly with US consent — was the first direct strike on Iranian fossil fuel production in the conflict. Washington and Tel Aviv had previously avoided this step, but crossing it triggered Iran’s most expansive and specific military threat of the war — one that named Gulf energy giants as explicit targets for the first time.
Facilities named as war targets by Iran’s state media included Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan installations. All workers and residents near these sites were told to evacuate immediately. The governor of Asaluyeh province condemned the US-Israeli attack as “political suicide” and declared the war had entered a full-scale economic warfare phase.
Oil prices rose to $108.60 per barrel, while European gas benchmarks jumped more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had already been reduced by 60% from pre-war levels due to infrastructure attacks and Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait unimpeded while preventing Gulf neighbors from doing so — a strategic weapon that had given it significant economic leverage throughout the conflict.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure threatened global energy security and the welfare of millions. The naming of Gulf energy giants as explicit war targets was a historic escalation — one that placed some of the world’s most economically significant energy assets in direct military jeopardy. The world’s energy markets had entered uncharted territory, and the coming hours would determine how far into that territory the conflict would go.