Iran’s military promised Gulf energy strikes on Wednesday after the South Pars gasfield was bombed by Israeli forces, and markets reacted with alarm as oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel. The Revolutionary Guards named specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar as targets and ordered immediate evacuation. The military promise, backed by named targets and a tight timeframe, sent global energy markets into one of their most volatile sessions of the entire conflict.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, is shared between Iran and Qatar and central to Iran’s energy economy. The Israeli bombing — reportedly with US consent — was the first direct attack on Iranian fossil fuel production in the conflict. Washington and Tel Aviv had previously avoided this move, but crossing this line triggered Iran’s most operationally specific and credible military promise of the war.
Named targets in Iran’s military promise included Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed and Ras Laffan facilities. Workers and residents were told to evacuate without delay. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli bombing “political suicide” and declared the conflict had entered a full-scale economic war.
Brent crude rose to $108.60 per barrel — a nearly 5% gain — while European gas benchmarks climbed more than 7.5% to above €55.50 per megawatt hour. The market reaction reflected deep anxiety about an already severely disrupted global energy supply picture: Gulf oil exports had fallen 60% from pre-war levels, the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively blockaded by Iran, and multiple energy facilities across the region had already been damaged or destroyed. Iran’s military promise of further strikes raised fears of a supply crisis without modern parallel.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that attacking energy infrastructure was a grave threat to global energy security and regional welfare. The market alarm that greeted Iran’s military promise was proportionate to the threat — one that named specific sites, set a tight window, and came from a military force that had demonstrated both the intent and capability to act on its declarations. The coming hours would determine whether the promise would be kept.