The bombing of the South Pars gasfield opened what observers called a Pandora’s Box on Wednesday, as Iran threatened total Gulf energy warfare in response to the Israeli strike. The Revolutionary Guards announced imminent attacks against facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, naming specific targets and ordering evacuation. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the potential consequences for global energy supply became frighteningly clear.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, is shared between Iran and Qatar. The Israeli strike on the field — reportedly with US backing — was the first direct attack on Iranian fossil fuel production in the conflict. Both countries had previously avoided this step, calculating that the risks of triggering a wider energy war outweighed the potential gains. That calculation had now changed — and the consequences were immediate and alarming.
Iran’s state broadcaster named Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities as targets for imminent strikes. All workers and residents were told to leave immediately. The Asaluyeh governor condemned the US-Israeli attack as “political suicide” and said the war had entered a full-scale economic phase that would have lasting global consequences.
Brent crude climbed to $108.60 per barrel — a nearly 5% gain — while European gas prices surged more than 7.5%. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war levels, battered by infrastructure attacks and Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait while blocking Gulf neighbors’ shipments — a strategic imbalance that had persisted throughout the conflict and now threatened to be compounded by a devastating new wave of energy strikes.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure was a direct threat to global energy security and the welfare of millions. The opening of this particular Pandora’s Box meant the energy war that had been building for months had now arrived in its most dangerous form. From oil refineries in Saudi Arabia to gas facilities in Qatar, no energy asset in the Gulf appeared safe — and the world’s energy system had never been more vulnerable.