Qatar has expelled several Iranian Embassy officials following an attack on its natural gas facility
The price of oil surged to $110 per barrel
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei vowed retaliation following the death of Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani
Israel claims it killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in a strike on Tuesday night
Iran has struck a major natural gas facility in Qatar causing “extensive damage”, after Tehran vowed to retaliate to an Israeli attack on one of its energy sites earlier on Wednesday.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said a fire broke out following a missile attack on Ras Laffan – the largest liquefied natural gas export facility in the world, according to QatarEnergy.
In a post on X, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and said it marked a dangerous escalation. The ministry wrote that Qatar would not hesitate to respond to attacks on its security and sovereignty.
Iran launched five ballistic missiles toward Qatar on Wednesday, the defence ministry said, and the country’s military intercepted all of them except the one that fell at Ras Laffan.
Qatar’s foreign ministry has since ordered Iranian embassy officials to leave the country within 24 hours.
In a post on social media, the foreign ministry said it had declared the military and security attaches of the Iranian Embassy — as well as the staff in their offices — persona non grata.
The decision came after repeated Iranian targeting and acts of aggression toward Qatar, the ministry’s statement said.
It comes after Iran condemned the strike on its massive South Pars natural gas field, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warning of “uncontrollable consequences” that “could engulf the entire world.”
The strike marked the first reported attack on Iran’s energy infrastructure.
The United States was informed about Israel’s plans to strike the gas field, but did not take part in it, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The price of oil also surged, hitting $110 per barrel, as strikes on energy infrastructure continued.
Meanwhile, Iran’s president said intelligence minister Esmail Khatib was killed in the latest attack by Israel on the country’s senior leadership
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