By Natasha Dangoor and Dov Lieber
Israel Strikes South Pars Gas Field
Israel attacked Iran's portion of the world's biggest gas field on Wednesday, driving up oil and gas prices. The strike on facilities linked to South Pars was designed to cut off an economic pipeline for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, people familiar with the matter said.
Qatar-which controls the other part of the gas field-condemned the attack, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari calling it a "dangerous and irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region."
Iran Warns of Far-Reaching Repercussions
The Israeli strike on South Pars prompted Iran's president to warn of "uncontrollable consequences, the scope of which could engulf the entire world." Tehran released a list of energy sites in Qatar and elsewhere in the region for evacuation.
Qatar Gas Hub Hit Twice
Qatar's liquefied natural gas hub, the site of the world's largest LNG plant, was hit on Wednesday and again on Thursday morning local time. Qatar said Iranian ballistic missiles had caused extensive damage at the Ras Laffan industrial area. The sudden loss of this massive supply node has already forced European and Asian buyers into a bidding war over the world's remaining uncontracted LNG cargoes, leading to a spike in prices.
Trump Denies Involvement in South Pars, Threatens Further Attacks
President Trump said afterward that the U.S. "knew nothing" about the South Pars attack. However, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the U.S. was informed of the plan ahead of time and had no issues with it, according to American and Israeli officials. Trump approved of the strike, U.S. officials said, to pressure Iran to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, the Journal reported.
Trump said that Israel won't launch further attacks against South Pars, but he threatened that the U.S. will "blow up the entirety" of the Iranian gas field if Qatari gas is attacked again.
After Iranian Warnings, Attacks on Energy Sites Across the Region
Oil officials in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates evacuated refineries, petrochemical facilities and gas fields Wednesday after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it considered them to be "legitimate and prime targets."
On Thursday morning, drones hit Kuwait's Mina Abdullah refinery and Saudi Arabia's Samref refinery in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. Iran's military warned that targeting Iranian energy infrastructure was a "major mistake," saying that further attacks would lead to escalation and "far more severe attacks."
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 07:21 ET (11:21 GMT)
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