The military actions between the U.S. and Israel against Iran have entered their 19th day, and the risk of attacks on Middle Eastern energy facilities has suddenly escalated. After Israel attacked its important gas fields, Iran announced it would fully strike U.S. related oil facilities and listed the energy facilities of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar as legitimate targets for attack, prompting these facilities to initiate emergency evacuations. According to reports from U.S. media cited by CCTV, after Israel's attack on Iranian gas fields, U.S. President Trump does not wish to see further attacks on Iranian energy facilities.
Following Iran's threats and attacks on energy facilities, international oil prices surged. On Wednesday, as U.S. stocks hit a daily high in early trading, Brent crude oil approached the $110 mark, with an intraday increase of about 6.3%; U.S. WTI crude oil broke above $99.40, rising about 3.3% during the day.
As the U.S. stock market neared closing, Qatar stated that Iranian missiles hit a liquefied natural gas (LNG) hub, causing &#34;severe damage&#34; to the site of the world's largest LNG export facility. Brent crude futures surged past $110 per barrel in after-hours electronic trading.
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According to CCTV News, on March 18, local time, the commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Tansiri, warned that Iran now treats U.S. related oil facilities the same as U.S. military bases and will strike them with full force. He urged workers at related facilities and nearby residents to evacuate. According to reports from Xinhua citing Iranian media, a spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces' Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters stated the same day that they would retaliate severely against attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure.
These threats triggered a chain reaction. Reports indicate that Saudi Aramco has begun evacuating the Samref refinery and facilities in Jubail, while facilities in the UAE's Al Hosn gas field and Qatar's Mesaieed petrochemical complex have also initiated evacuations. Iran's attack on the Riyadh refinery's exclusive area for the U.S. has caused a major fire. Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City was hit by missile attacks.
The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced on Wednesday that Iran's gas supply to Iraq has been completely cut off, directly resulting in a loss of over 3.1 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generation capacity for Iraq.
According to CCTV, in the early hours of Thursday, March 19, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued an emergency statement announcing that it had launched large-scale missile attacks on U.S. related oil and energy facilities in the region. This action was a direct retaliatory response to the earlier attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure on the 18th.
CCTV mentioned that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure could trigger a chain reaction. Raisi issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure, stating that such acts of aggression would not bring any benefits to the enemies and their supporters, but would instead complicate the situation and could lead to uncontrollable chain reactions affecting the globe.
However, reports on Wednesday indicated that Saudi Arabia's emergency plan to bypass the Strait of Hormuz has begun to show results, having restored over 50% of its crude oil exports.
<h2>Israel Attacks Iran's Largest Gas Facility, Situation Escalates Suddenly</h2>
Comments point out that the direct trigger for this round of tensions is Israel's strike on Iran's core energy assets.
According to CCTV News, the Israel Defense Forces attacked facilities related to the South Pars gas field in Bushehr Province, Iran, on Wednesday, the 18th local time. Israeli officials stated that this facility processes about 40% of Iran's natural gas and indicated that the attack was coordinated with the United States. Following the attack, some petrochemical facilities in Asaluyeh, Bushehr Province, were hit by American and Israeli drones, and gas refineries 3 to 6 of the South Pars field were also affected.
This is the first direct strike on Iran's upstream oil and gas assets in this round of conflict. Official reports since the beginning of this month indicate that several senior Iranian officials have died since the outbreak of the conflict, including Iran's Minister of Intelligence Ismail Khatib, who was confirmed dead on Wednesday.
Qatar strongly condemned Israel's strike, and after Iran attacked Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, it also issued a condemnation against Iran.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ansari stated on social media on Wednesday that Israel's strike on facilities related to the South Pars gas field in Iran is a &#34;dangerous and irresponsible act&#34; taken against the backdrop of current military escalation in the region.
Ansari emphasized that attacks on energy infrastructure threaten global energy security and the safety of regional people and the environment, calling on all parties to exercise restraint, adhere to international law, and promote de-escalation. It is worth noting that the South Pars gas field and Qatar's North Field belong to the same reservoir.
According to CCTV News, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday that the military attaché and relevant staff of the Iranian embassy in Qatar are &#34;unwelcome persons&#34; and must leave the country within 24 hours. The ministry stated that Iran has repeatedly attacked Qatar, harming its sovereignty and security, and openly violating the principles of international law and good-neighborly relations. Qatar warned that if Iran continues such hostile actions, it will take further measures to ensure its sovereignty, security, and national interests are maintained.
<h2>Iran Lists Three Countries as Targets for Strikes, Gulf Facilities Evacuated</h2>
According to CCTV, citing Iranian sources on Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran issued an urgent warning that the oil facilities of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have become legitimate targets for strikes and urged residents in the relevant areas to evacuate.
According to CCTV News, Iran warned that if its energy facilities are attacked, all energy infrastructure supporting American and Israeli interests in the region will become Iran's primary targets.
An Iranian semi-official news agency released a list of planned targets for strikes on Wednesday. The facilities listed by Iran include:
<ul>
<li>Qatar's Ras Laffan Refinery Phase 1 and Phase 2 and Mesaieed Petrochemical Complex;</li>
<li>Saudi Arabia's Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex;</li>
<li>UAE's Al Hosn gas field.</li>
</ul>
The aforementioned Iranian media quoted Iranian statements saying, &#34;These facilities have become direct legitimate targets and will be attacked in the coming hours.&#34;
Reports indicate that Saudi Aramco has initiated preventive evacuations at the Samref Refinery and Jubail facilities, and personnel at the UAE's Al Hosn gas field and Qatar's Mesaieed Petrochemical Complex have also begun to evacuate
The media pointed out that the aforementioned targets include several key natural gas assets, and even though most facilities have suspended operations due to attack risks, significant damage could still lead to sustained shocks to global energy supply and keep prices high for a long time.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that Iran's scale of attacks on Gulf countries is also continuing to expand—since March 12, Iran's attacks on Saudi Arabia have significantly increased, with nearly a hundred drones launched at Saudi Arabia's eastern province just this Monday, where a large number of key oil and gas infrastructures are concentrated. The Saudi Ministry of Defense stated that it has intercepted the latest attacks.
<h2>Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City Attacked, Riyadh Refinery Catches Fire, Abu Dhabi's Habshan Gas Facility Suspended</h2>
According to CCTV News, on Wednesday, local time on the 18th, Qatar Energy Company issued a statement saying that Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar was hit by a missile attack that evening. The statement indicated that the attack caused a major fire and significant property damage, but no casualties were reported. Currently, the civil defense department has controlled the fire.
CCTV mentioned that the oil and gas facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City were within the strike target range warned by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier on Wednesday. After the warning was issued, personnel were evacuated from Ras Laffan Industrial City.
CCTV cited Iranian sources on Wednesday stating that Iran successfully struck the U.S. exclusive area of the Riyadh oil and gas joint refinery located in the suburbs of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Explosions occurred in the refinery, leading to a large-scale fire.
The report stated that the attack on the refinery destroyed aircraft fuel reserves, which would directly paralyze or severely obstruct the fuel supply process for U.S. military aircraft. It is reported that the U.S. military has been using this refinery to supply fuel for U.S. Air Force aircraft stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Sudan.
Reports indicate that due to the impact of the missile attack, the Habshan gas facility in Abu Dhabi, UAE, has been suspended.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office stated on social media that after intercepting missiles targeting the Habshan facility and an oil field, the Habshan gas facility ceased operations due to debris impact. No injuries were reported. The Habshan gas field supplies gas to the liquefied natural gas export facility of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
<h2>Reports Indicate Trump Was Aware in Advance and Supported Israel's Attack on Iranian Gas Fields, Currently Opposes Further Attacks on Energy Facilities</h2>
According to CCTV News, U.S. media cited U.S. officials stating that after Israel attacked Iran's South Pars gas field that day, President Trump expressed that he &#34;does not wish to see further attacks on Iranian energy facilities.&#34;
According to the report, Trump was aware in advance of Israel's attack plan on the South Pars gas field and expressed support, intending to send a message to Iran in &#34;response to its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.&#34; According to U.S. officials, Trump believes that &#34;Iran has understood this message,&#34; and therefore he currently opposes further attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure.
However, depending on Iran's future actions in the strategic waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump may still reconsider designating more Iranian energy facilities as targets for strikes.
According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli Air Force attacked &#34;major natural gas facilities&#34; located in southern Iran that day and is prepared to launch attacks on other Iranian national infrastructures. Israeli media stated that this attack was &#34;coordinated&#34; between Israel and the United States
<h2>Gulf Oil Exports Plummet Over 60%, Global Energy Supply Under Pressure</h2>
The impact of the conflict on global energy flows has been clearly reflected in shipping data.
According to data from the Belgian market service agency Kpler, cited by CCTV, as of the week ending March 15, the daily oil export volume of the eight major Gulf oil-producing countries—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates—averaged about 9.71 million barrels, down from an average of 25.13 million barrels in February, a decrease of approximately 61%.
Kpler's data also shows that before the outbreak of hostilities, the oil export volume from these eight countries accounted for 36% of the global total.
Iraq has been particularly directly impacted.
According to CCTV News, Iraq's Ministry of Electricity confirmed on the 18th local time that Iran has completely halted its natural gas supply to Iraq.
Reports indicate that Ahmed Moussa, a spokesperson for Iraq's Ministry of Electricity, stated that before the interruption, Iran was supplying about 19 million cubic meters of gas daily to Iraq, and the gas disruption has resulted in Iraq losing over 3.1 GW of power generation capacity.
<h2>Saudi Arabia Finds Alternative Routes Around Hormuz, Has Restored Over 50% of Oil Exports</h2>
Reports indicate that despite ongoing disruptions from the Iranian conflict, Saudi Arabia's oil export volume has recovered to more than half of normal levels.
With the Strait of Hormuz nearly paralyzed, Saudi Arabia is rerouting crude oil through a 1,200-kilometer (746-mile) pipeline to the western port of Yanbu. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has rapidly assembled a large fleet of oil tankers, which are heading to the Red Sea to load crude oil and are currently gathering around the port.
Tracking data compiled by the media shows that over the past five days, the average daily crude oil shipment volume from Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port has been about 4.19 million barrels, accounting for a significant portion of Saudi Arabia's total daily export volume of about 7 million barrels before the outbreak of the Iranian war, and far exceeding the previous level of about 1.4 million barrels transported through that port

After the important gas field was attacked, Iran stated that it would treat U.S. oil facilities and U.S. military bases equally and would strike back with full force; it listed targets for strikes on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Brent crude oil rose over 6% during trading, approaching $110. Iran's attack on the U.S. exclusive area of the Riyadh refinery in Saudi Arabia caused a major fire. The Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar was hit by missile attacks. Qatar stated that Iranian missiles struck the LNG hub, causing severe damage, and Brent crude oil later surged past $110. Reports indicated that Trump was informed in advance and supported Israel's attack on Iranian gas fields, but currently opposes further attacks on energy facilities. Iraq stated that the supply of natural gas from Iran has been completely interrupted. Reports suggest that Saudi Arabia's emergency plan to bypass the Strait of Hormuz is showing initial results, restoring over 50% of crude oil exports. Last week, the daily oil exports of Gulf countries fell by more than 60%

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Iran launched a large-scale missile attack on U.S. related energy facilities, specifying targets in three Middle Eastern countries, and Trump reportedly does not want to attack such facilities again for the time being