A Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned Israel’s attack on Iran’s offshore gas fields as a “dangerous and irresponsible action.”
Iran has threatened to attack oil and gas facilities in the Gulf region in retaliation for Israel’s attack on the South Pars gas field, as the fallout from the US-Israel war continues to escalate.
In a statement released Wednesday by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, Iranian authorities said five facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar “will be targeted in the coming hours.”
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The facilities include Saudi Arabia’s SAMREF refinery and Jubail petrochemical complex, UAE’s Al Hosn gas field, and Qatar’s Ras Laffan oil refinery and Mesaieed petrochemical complex and holding company.
The threat came after Iranian state media reported attacks on natural gas facilities associated with the South Pars offshore field, the world’s largest gas field, located off the coast of southern Iran’s Bushehr province.
Iran’s Oil Ministry said in a statement shared by Tasnim that a number of facilities were damaged but no casualties were immediately reported. Iranian state media also reported that the gas field fire had been extinguished.
Israeli media, citing anonymous sources, reported that the attack was carried out by the country’s air force.
Israel and the United States have carried out attacks on various targets across Iran, including oil facilities, since the war began on February 28.
Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks on countries in the Middle East, including Gulf Arab states, continue despite growing concerns about the conflict’s impact on global energy markets.
Energy prices have soared after Iran’s mandatory closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital Gulf waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes.
Iran has said it will open fire on U.S. military assets in the region, but Gulf leaders have repeatedly condemned the attacks as a violation of international law and said they targeted civilian infrastructure.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari on Wednesday accused Israel of targeting Southfar, noting that Iran’s gas fields are an extension of Qatar’s North Field.
In a statement posted on social media, al-Ansari said the attack was a “dangerous and irresponsible measure amidst the current military escalation in the region.”
“Targeting energy infrastructure poses a threat not only to global energy security but also to local populations and the environment,” he wrote.
“We reiterate, as we have repeatedly emphasized, the need to avoid targeting key facilities. We call on all parties to exercise restraint, comply with international law, and work to de-escalate tensions in a way that maintains security and stability in the region.”
Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Dubai, said Gulf countries were seeking an “exit” to end the war.
But Basravi said: “No matter how many voices call for a negotiated solution, there is virtually no room for discussion on how to move forward as long as there is no end to targeting and fighting on both sides.”
“What we will see is these countries trying to put more political and diplomatic pressure, not only on Iran but also on the United States, 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.
“Today’s events will certainly make this meeting much more urgent, much more timely and much more tense,” Basravi said.
