Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars gas field on Wednesday. Now there is a risk of further escalation.screenshot x
March 18, 2026, 4:18 p.mMarch 18, 2026, 4:19 p.m
After attacks on its gas industry, Iran is threatening to attack gas fields and refineries in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in its war with Israel and the USA.
The military leadership justified this by saying that civilian and vital infrastructure had been attacked, the Fars news agency reported. The time for limited battles is over. The war pendulum is moving towards a “comprehensive economic war”. If the Revolutionary Guards carry out their threat to attack energy industry facilities in neighboring countries, they would be drawn even further into the war.
The latest developments in the Iran war at a glance.
Attack near the largest gas field in the world
Media reported, citing Israeli government sources, that the country’s air force carried out the attacks on the gas industry in the Persian Gulf. The news agencies Tasnim and Mehr reported that petrochemical plants in the industrial city of Asalujeh were affected.
Near Asalujeh on the Persian Gulf is the world’s largest gas field, “South-Pars,” which Iran shares with Qatar. The region is central to Iran’s energy sector and supplies around 70 percent of the domestic gas supply. The spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry accused Israel of taking a “dangerous and irresponsible step” amid the military escalation.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned of an expansion of the Iran war with global consequences. The war has “a real potential for escalation, which can plunge not only this region but the world as a whole into the greatest crisis,” he said in Berlin.
Qatar: Israel’s attack on gas facilities “irresponsible”
Qatar has blamed Israel for the attack on Iranian gas industry facilities and strongly condemned it. It is a “dangerous and irresponsible step in the midst of the current military escalation in the region. Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari said this on X.
The Israeli targeting of facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars field, an extension of Qatar’s North Field, is a dangerous & irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region.
Targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as…
— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) March 18, 2026
Oil prices are rising significantly again
Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday following attacks on Iran’s gas facilities. In the afternoon, Brent crude oil cost $108.25, around four and a half percent more than the day before.
At the beginning of the week, the price of Brent crude oil from the North Sea had temporarily fallen below the $100 mark. Iran has reported new attacks on parts of its gas industry in the war with the USA and Israel, triggering the latest price surge on the oil market.
The news agencies Tasnim and Mehr reported that petrochemical plants in the industrial city of Asalujeh were affected. No further details were initially known. It initially remained unclear whether Israel or the USA were responsible for the air strikes.
Israel: Iran’s intelligence chief killed
Israel continues its series of attacks on top Iranian officials. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Intelligence Minister Ismail Chatib was killed. There was initially no confirmation from Iran. In addition, according to the defense minister, Israel’s leadership has approved the killing of every senior Iranian official. No further approval is required for this.
Larijani and his son are buried
Israel has already killed dozens of leading figures in the Iranian power apparatus in the Iran war, including Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani. Government supporters gathered in Tehran for the funeral service for Larijani and his son, who was also killed.
Iranian secret service takes action against opposition members
Iran’s secret service is now looking for government opponents. According to its own statements, Tehran took action against dozens of networks of opposition figures – in particular supporters of the Shah’s son Reza Pahlavi, who claims a leading role in the opposition abroad.
At least twelve dead in Beirut
According to Lebanese sources, at least 12 people were killed and 41 others injured in Israeli air strikes in the capital Beirut. Early on Wednesday morning, an explosion shook the Bashura district: According to a photographer from the German Press Agency (dpa), a high-rise building was hit and completely reduced to rubble. Israel’s military had previously warned of attacks. The district had already been the target of air strikes last week.
Impact on the site of an Iranian nuclear power plant
According to information from Tehran, in the course of the attacks by Israel and the USA on Iran, a projectile hit the site of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The power plant itself was not damaged, the Iranian authorities told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). There were also no injuries. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called for utmost restraint in the conflict to avoid a nuclear accident.
USA uses bunker busters against Iranian positions
The US armed forces said they dropped bunker-busting bombs on specially protected Iranian missile positions in the Strait of Hormuz – a strategically important strait through which large quantities of oil are shipped. The US Middle East Regional Command said several of the bombs, each weighing almost 2.3 tons, were used successfully. Accordingly, the attack was aimed at positions with cruise missiles that were to be used against ships in the strait.
Discussion about “immediate threat”
US intelligence coordinator Tulsi Gabbard has now commented on the resignation of a government employee in protest against the Iran war. It is up to US President Donald Trump, as commander in chief, to assess what constitutes an immediate threat and what does not, and whether he takes measures that he deems necessary to protect the security of his own troops, the US population and the country, she wrote on X.
The head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent, announced his resignation on Tuesday because, in his view, Iran did not pose an immediate threat to the United States. It is obvious that the United States started the war because of Israeli pressure. (hkl/sda/dpa)