Iran’s Revolutionary Guards laid out a detailed Gulf energy strike plan on Wednesday after the South Pars gasfield was attacked by Israeli forces for the first time. Specific facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar were named as targets, evacuation orders were issued, and a timeframe of hours was set. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the Guards’ detailed strike plan gave Iran’s threat a level of operational credibility that 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 move, but crossing this threshold triggered the most detailed and operationally specific strike plan Iran had announced in the entire conflict.
The Guards’ strike plan 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. Workers and residents near these sites were ordered to evacuate without delay. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar condemned the US-Israeli attack as “political suicide” and declared the conflict had entered a total economic war phase.
Brent crude rose nearly 5% to $108.60 per barrel, while European gas prices jumped more than 7.5% to above €55.50 per megawatt hour. Gulf oil exports had already been slashed by 60% from pre-war volumes due to sustained infrastructure attacks and Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait unimpeded while blocking Gulf neighbors from doing so — a strategic advantage that had defined the conflict’s economic character throughout.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that attacking energy infrastructure threatened global energy security and the welfare of millions. The operational detail of the Guards’ strike plan — with named targets, issued evacuation orders, and a declared timeframe — went beyond diplomatic signaling and into the realm of genuine military preparation. The world was left to determine whether the plan would be executed, and if so, what the consequences would be for the global energy supply.