On Wednesday, March 18, the Iranian authorities announced an attack on a gas field in southern Pars. This is the first attack on Iran’s energy infrastructure since the beginning of the war with the United States and Israel, and could lead to a significant escalation of the conflict. Notes Financial Times.
Iranian officials said that four sections of the South Pars petrochemical complex were damaged and temporarily closed, but the full extent of the damage was not yet clear.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the attack on southern Persia He threatened Attacks on oil and gas facilities in other Gulf countries. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard listed specific targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, and promised to attack them in the coming hours.
Qatar, which owns the northern part of the field, also condemned the attack on South Pars. “Israeli strikes on targets linked to South Pars are dangerous and irresponsible amid the military escalation in the region. <...> We insist once again on the necessity of preventing attacks on vital installations.” male Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari.
The attack on South Pars also caused oil and gas prices to rise by 5-6%, according to the Financial Times.
Pars is the largest gas field in the world and is located in the Persian Gulf. South Pars belongs to Iran, and the northern part of the field belongs to Qatar.
South Pars supplies most of Iranian gas for domestic consumption, and is also important for generating electricity in the country, as the main fuel source is natural gas.