A spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry slammed the Israeli attack on Iran’s offshore gasfield as a ‘dangerous, irresponsible step’.
Iran has threatened to attack oil and gas facilities in the Gulf region in retaliation for an Israeli attack on its South Pars gasfield, as the effects of the United States-Israel war on the country continue to fester.
In a statement shared Wednesday by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, Iranian officials said five facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar “will be targeted in the coming hours.”
Recommended stories
List of 3 itemsEnd of list
SAMREF Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex in Saudi Arabia, Al Hosn Gasfield in UAE, and Ras Laffan Refinery and Mesayed Petrochemical Complex and Holding Company in Qatar.
The threat comes after Iranian state media reported that natural gas facilities linked to its offshore South Pars field – the world’s largest gasfield – located off the coast of southern Iran’s Bushehr province, were attacked.
In a statement shared by Tasnim, Iran’s Petroleum Ministry said several facilities were damaged but no casualties were immediately reported. Iranian state media reported that the fire at the gasfield was under control.
Citing unnamed sources, Israeli media reported that the country’s air force had carried out the strike.
Since the start of the war on February 28, Israel and the US have carried out attacks on a number of targets across Iran, including oil facilities.
Retaliatory Iranian missile and drone attacks on countries in the wider Middle East, including the Arab Gulf states, have continued despite growing concerns about the wider impact of the conflict on global energy markets.
The closure of Iran’s vital Strait of Hormuz — a critical Gulf waterway that transports about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas — has sent energy prices skyrocketing.
While Iran says it is firing on US military assets in the region, Gulf leaders have repeatedly condemned the attacks as a violation of international law and said they targeted civilian infrastructure.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed Al-Ansari on Wednesday condemned Israel’s targeting of southern Pars, noting that the Iranian gasfield is an extension of Qatar’s northern sector.
The attack was a “dangerous and irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region,” Al-Ansari said in a statement shared on social media.
“Targeting energy infrastructure threatens global energy security and the region’s people and its environment,” he wrote.
“As we have repeatedly emphasized, we reiterate the need to avoid targeting key facilities. We call on all parties to exercise restraint, abide by international law, and work towards de-escalation in a manner that preserves the security and stability of the region.”
Reporting from Dubai, Al Jazeera’s Zein Basrawi said Gulf states were trying to “find an off-ramp” to help end the war.
But Basravi said: “No matter how many voices try to call for a negotiated solution, if there is no end to both sides’ goals and struggles, there is really no room for discussion about how to move forward.”
“We’re likely to see these countries try to bring more political pressure, more diplomatic pressure — not just on Iran, but on the United States — to try to withdraw from the conflict.”
He noted that Saudi Arabia will host a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.
“The events of the day certainly make this meeting more urgent, more timely and more tense,” Basravi said.
(tags to translate)news
