Iran accused Israel of striking its facilities in the huge South Pars gas field on Wednesday in a major escalation in the U.S.-Israeli war that sent oil prices shooting higher, and retaliated by vowing attacks on oil and gas targets throughout ‌the Gulf, firing missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.
Qatar's state oil giant QatarEnergy reported "extensive damage" after the Ras Laffan Industrial City, an energy-industry hub, was hit by Iranian missiles. Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh on Wednesday and an attempted drone attack on a gas facility in the east of the country.
South Pars is the Iranian sector of the world's largest natural gas deposit, which Iran shares with Qatar, a close U.S. ally, across the Gulf. Qatar's foreign ministry rebuked Israel for a "dangerous and irresponsible" attack on Iran's South Pars facilities, and denounced Iran for what it called "a flagrant breach" of international law, expelling two senior Iranian diplomats, according to Reuters.
