In the early hours of March 19, 2026, Iran launched a missile attack on Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, hitting one of the world's most important liquefied natural gas centers and triggering a series of energy attacks across the Gulf region. According to QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company, multiple facilities suffered "significant damage" and "major fires" during the attack. This strike occurred a day after an attack on the Pearl gas liquefaction facility.
The attack is widely interpreted as Iran's response to Israel's strike on its South Pars gas field the previous day, which is the largest gas field in the world. Israel's attack marked the first direct assault on significant fossil fuel production since the U.S. and Israel initiated military operations nearly three weeks ago. The South Pars gas field, shared with Qatar, accounts for 70% of Iran's total gas production. Preliminary reports indicate that about 12% of production-related facilities may have been targeted.
Trump quickly distanced himself from the Israeli actions and issued a stern warning. He stated that as long as Tehran halts attacks on Qatari facilities, Israel would refrain from further strikes on Iranian gas fields. Additionally, the U.S. government is considering deploying thousands of troops to the region.
To lower domestic fuel prices, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen hinted that Washington might soon lift sanctions on 140 million barrels of detained Iranian oil.
Trump's threats raise concerns over a global energy crisis.
At the TTF center in the Netherlands, European gas prices surged nearly 16%, reaching a three-year high. Asian stock markets plummeted, with South Korea's KOSPI index dropping about 3% and Japan's Nikkei 225 index crashing by 3.4%, due to heavy reliance on imported LNG.
While some supply disruptions can be resolved quickly, analysts warn that the physical destruction of energy facilities is an entirely different matter. Experts point to events in Iraq and Ukraine, noting that the recovery of large-scale energy infrastructure after conflict is a daunting task, and global supply could be affected for years.
If Trump's threat to completely destroy Iran's South Pars gas field is realized, a portion of the world's largest gas reserves would be lost. Such a level of damage, combined with the strikes already suffered by Qatar's LNG plants and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, would lead to a long-term gas shortage that cannot be quickly repaired. Repairs of this scale typically take years.
Countries reliant on imported LNG, such as Japan, South Korea, China, India, and parts of Europe, will face severe shortages, which will drive up inflation, impact factory operations, slow down the global economy, and increase the risk of recession in regions most dependent on stable energy supplies.