Iran’s huge Gulf gas field struck in major escalation
Iran’s giant Pars gas field was hit in the first reported attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure in the Gulf during the US-Israeli war; It’s a major tension that has led Tehran to warn its neighbors to evacuate their energy facilities.
Pars is the Iranian sector of the world’s largest natural gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar across the Gulf. Iran’s Fars news agency reported that gas tanks and parts of a refinery were hit on Wednesday, workers were evacuated to safety and emergency crews were trying to extinguish the fire.
It was widely reported in the Israeli media that the attack was carried out by Israel with the permission of the USA. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Qatar, a close US ally that hosts the largest air base in the region, described it as an Israeli attack, without mentioning any US role. A Qatari foreign ministry spokesman described it as a “dangerous and irresponsible” escalation that puts global energy security at risk.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard immediately told Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar to evacuate several energy facilities.
The United States and Israel had previously refrained from targeting Iran’s energy production facilities in the Gulf; It was a move that could invite retaliation against other producers and make it harder for global markets to recover from the biggest disruption to energy supplies ever.
But almost three weeks after the war, there are no signs of tensions easing.
Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Iran’s intelligence minister in the second attack on a senior leader in two days, giving the military authority to target any senior Iranian official it could locate.
Israel also struck the center of Beirut, destroying apartment buildings in the most intense airstrikes on the Lebanese capital in decades, in another front in Israel’s war with the United States against Iran.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, who announced that Israel also killed Iran’s Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib, a day after killing security chief Ali Larijani, said, “No one has immunity in Iran and everyone is a target.”
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorized the Israel Defense Forces to target any senior Iranian official for whom an intelligence and operational opportunity arises, without the need for additional approval.”
It appears to be the first time Israel has publicly stated that it will allow the military to target enemy officials without obtaining special permission for the missions from political leaders. Katz did not say when the order was given.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran for the funeral of Larijani and the other people killed. The crowd waved Iranian flags and carried portraits of the dead, as one eulogist said: “The martyrs lead the way, they have become more alive, they burn with love.”
Iran retaliated for Larijani’s killing by firing missiles at Israel, which Israeli officials said killed two people near Tel Aviv. Tehran said it opened fire on US bases in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beer Sheba in Israel, as well as Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE throughout the night.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that the United States and Israel fail to understand that the Islamic Republic is a solid political system that does not depend on a single person.
The unprecedented disruption in global energy supplies has increased political risks for US President Donald Trump. Diesel prices in the US rose above US$5 ($A7.1) per gallon for the first time since a 2022 inflation surge that eroded support for his predecessor Joe Biden.
Israel has stepped up its attacks on Lebanon and ground attacks in the south to pursue the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which crossed the border and opened fire in solidarity with Tehran.
Inside Israel, an Iranian missile blasted a crater in the pavement and set vehicles on fire in the Holon settlement just south of Tel Aviv.
