IRANIAN strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas facility caused “extensive” damage, raising concerns over global energy supplies and prompting a warning from US President Donald Trump.
Qatar said on Thursday that two waves of Iranian attacks hit the Ras Laffan LNG hub, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility, causing “sizeable fires and extensive further damage” to several installations. The interior ministry later said the fires had been brought under control, with no reported injuries.
The strikes came after Iran targeted the facility in response to an Israeli attack a day earlier on Iran’s South Pars gas field, part of the world’s largest natural gas reserve shared with Qatar.
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Oil prices rose by five per cent and European gas prices increased by up to 35 per cent, with the Dutch TTF benchmark reaching 74 euros before easing slightly, as concerns grew over energy supply disruptions.
Donald Trump warned Iran to stop attacks on Qatar, saying the United States would “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field” if Tehran continued its actions. He said Washington “knew nothing” about the Israeli strike on South Pars and described Iran as having “violently lashed out” in “anger”. He added that “no more attacks will be made by Israel” on the gas field unless Iran continues targeting Qatar.
Qatar is one of the world’s largest LNG producers, along with the United States, Australia and Russia, and its Ras Laffan facility is central to global gas supply. The site has been repeatedly targeted since the conflict began.
The escalation has also affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about one fifth of global oil and LNG, with tanker traffic slowing because of threats of further Iranian attacks.
Analysts said the targeting of production facilities marked a new phase in the conflict. Theresa Fallon, director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies, wrote on X that the strike “marks a significant escalation in the Middle East war” and that “the economic effect will likely be felt for years”.
The conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran responded with strikes on Israel and US-linked targets across the Gulf and Iraq.
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Gulf countries criticised the earlier Israeli strike on South Pars, which supplies around 70 per cent of Iran’s domestic gas. Qatar called it “dangerous and irresponsible”, while the United Arab Emirates described it as a “dangerous escalation” and said “targeting energy infrastructure poses a direct threat to global energy security”.
Following the attack on Ras Laffan, Qatar ordered Iranian military and security attachés and their staff to leave the country.
Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait reported a drone attack on a unit at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery that caused a limited fire with no injuries. Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted drones targeting energy infrastructure and stated it reserved “the right to take military action if deemed necessary”.
In the United Arab Emirates, operations at a gas facility in Abu Dhabi were shut after debris from missile interceptions fell on the site. A projectile also hit a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire, according to a British maritime agency.
The conflict has spread across multiple countries. In Iraq, the Popular Mobilisation Forces said two fighters were killed in strikes in the Nineveh region and that an airport in Salah al-Din province was also targeted.
In Lebanon, Israeli strikes on central Beirut killed at least 12 people, authorities said, as fighting with Hezbollah intensified. Residents fled southern areas, with long lines of vehicles heading towards Sidon. One resident, Nidal Ahmad Chokr, said: “Bakers died while making bread” and “municipal workers were martyred while using bulldozers”.
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Israel said it would continue targeting Iranian officials after announcing the killing of intelligence chief Esmail Khatib. Earlier, national security chief Ali Larijani was also killed in an Israeli strike.
China condemned the killing, with foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying “killing Iranian state leaders and attacking civilian targets” was “unacceptable”.
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said retaliation would follow. “Every drop of spilled blood comes at a price, and the criminal murderers of these martyrs will soon have to pay it,” a message on his official Telegram channel said.
A US-based rights group reported more than 3,000 people killed in Iran in US-Israeli strikes, a figure that could not be independently verified. Iran has continued missile and drone attacks across the region.
In Israel, an Iranian missile barrage killed a Thai foreign worker, raising the death toll to 15, according to Israeli medics and Thailand’s foreign ministry. In the occupied West Bank, missile debris killed three Palestinian women, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.
In Washington, US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard told Congress the Iranian government remained “intact but largely degraded” and said Tehran had not resumed nuclear enrichment.
The war has also affected aviation, with Cathay Pacific suspending flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until the end of April.
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In the United Kingdom, two men were charged with spying for Iran on individuals and locations linked to the Jewish community. Frank Ferguson of the Crown Prosecution Service said, “The charge relates to carrying out activities in the UK such as gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets.” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said, “We fully recognise that the public – and in particular the Jewish community – will be concerned, but I hope this investigation reassures them that we will not hesitate to take action if we identify there may be a threat to their safety.”
Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, and Alireza Farasati, 22, were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between July 9 and August 15 last year. Both are due to appear in a London court.
Separately, Iran executed three people convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations in favour of the United States and Israel during unrest earlier this year, the judiciary said.
The US Federal Reserve said it was raising its inflation outlook while keeping interest rates steady, citing an “uncertain” economic outlook linked to the war.
(With inputs from agencies)
