Iran has responded to the targeting of its energy sector by Israel with strikes on oil and natural gas facilities throughout the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, according to reports overnight.
Israel carried out a large-scale strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, the world’s largest, on Wednesday, prompting retaliatory actions from Tehran targeting key energy infrastructure across Gulf Arab states.
The developments have raised concerns about global energy markets, as facilities like South Pars — along with the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz — play a major role in determining worldwide prices for oil, gas and other goods. Prices rose early Thursday, and economists warned the disruption could trigger broader economic impacts, including higher costs and potential supply shortages affecting consumers globally, NBC News reported.
Amid growing tensions and concern from U.S. allies in the Gulf and Europe, President Donald Trump said Israel would not carry out additional strikes on the gas field unless Iran launched further attacks on U.S. partner Qatar. Trump added on his Truth Social account that if such an attack occurred, the United States would “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field.”
Qatar is extremely upset with Iran, as well as the United States and Israel, according to a senior official close to its leaders who spoke to NBC News. The Gulf kingdom is frustrated that a war, which is partly justified as necessary for the protection of international oil and gas flows, is now harming its crucial infrastructure.
“The international benchmark of Brent crude oil spiked as high as $119 a barrel early Thursday, and wholesale natural gas prices across Europe jumped by as much as 25%,” NBC noted. “Both dipped slightly through the morning, though they remained significantly elevated compared to their prewar levels.”
U.S. crude oil prices briefly climbed above $100 a barrel before settling back to around $96. Since the start of the conflict with Iran on Feb. 28, prices have risen by roughly 45 percent, NBC noted.
In response to the surge, the Trump administration has taken steps aimed at stabilizing energy markets, including easing sanctions on Russian oil and waiving certain domestic shipping restrictions. Those measures have not yet significantly reduced prices.
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is also considering easing restrictions on Iranian oil currently held at sea as part of broader efforts to increase supply, the outlet reported.
“In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians, to keep the price down for the next 10 or 14 days as we continue this campaign,” Bessent said in a Fox Business Network interview. “So we have lots of levers. We’ve got plenty more that we can do.”
Meanwhile, when he was asked about easing sanctions on Iran, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, “We will do whatever is necessary.”
Experts say the Trump administration’s additional steps to boost global supply may not fully negate the lasting impact of attacks on the region’s energy infrastructure.
“Even if the conflict were to end tomorrow and the Strait of Hormuz were to reopen, oil prices would not return to pre-conflict levels of $67 per barrel,” veteran energy industry analyst Andy Lipow wrote in a note Thursday.
“The damage to energy infrastructure is done and will take months if not years to repair the more extensively damaged facilities,” he wrote.
Furthermore, Lipow stated that energy markets will now incorporate a potential future closure of the strait into oil pricing.
“The latest flashpoint started Wednesday when Iranian state media said Israel had bombed facilities associated with the South Pars gas field, which it shares with Qatar.” noted the outlet. “Video posted to social media and geolocated by NBC News showed roiling fireballs and the sky rank with black smoke above a refinery in Asaluyeh, on Iran’s Gulf coastline.”