Iran Strikes Ras Laffan LNG Complex in Qatar as Gulf Tensions Rise

Iran has escalated its retaliation in the widening war, striking Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial complex with missiles after Israel targeted Iran’s South Pars gas field and related facilities. Ras Laffan hosts Qatar's LNG plants and refining facilities and accounts for about 20% of global LNG supply. Qatar is the world’s second-largest LNG exporter and a major supplier to Asia.

Qatar’s Defense Ministry said on X that four of five ballistic missiles fired from Iran were intercepted, but one hit the Ras Laffan industrial complex, igniting a fire. The strike underscores how the conflict is now reaching energy facilities that underpin energy markets worldwide.

The same day, Israel carried out attacks on Iran’s South Pars gas field and associated production facilities in the Persian Gulf. South Pars, one of the world’s largest gas condensate fields, is shared between Iran and Qatar and accounts for roughly 70% of Iran’s gas production. Iran and its state media have warned that the conflict could broaden to target energy infrastructure in the region, with Iran noting disruptions to its power supply as a consequence of the Israeli strike.

Since the war began, authorities have prioritized preventing major strikes on energy sites, but the current exchanges mark a shift toward broader attacks on energy infrastructure. Iran’s leadership and allied media signaled a harsher response, with one senior Iranian official invoking “eye for eye” retaliation and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps listing key Gulf energy facilities as legitimate targets. Iranian media described the war as moving from limited engagements to a broader economic battle, with the red line described as altered after the latest strikes.

Qatar further raised tensions by declaring Iranian military and security personnel in Qatar as personae non gratae and ordering them to leave within 24 hours. U.S. officials and Qatar’s government held discussions to clarify the situation, with White House officials seeking explanations and discussions about arranging an emergency call between the U.S. president and Qatar’s emir.

Analysts and observers have warned that Gulf states might respond more actively as energy targets come under attack. The Guardian described the development as a serious broadening of the conflict with potentially long-term consequences. Thorbjørn Soltvedt, a risk analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, told the Financial Times that the attack on Iran’s gas fields could prolong the war into May and beyond, with no clear end in sight.

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking from the White House, said that Washington had not been informed of Israel’s strike on South Pars and emphasized that if Iran does not retaliate against Qatar again, Israel would refrain from further attacks on the site. He underscored the need to prevent a wider war, while Iran warned that any renewed attack on Qatar’s LNG facilities would be met with overwhelming force, including threats to destroy the South Pars field.

The unfolding confrontation has immediate implications for global energy markets and U.S. energy security. Ras Laffan’s role in LNG supply chains links the Middle East to Asian and European buyers, making any disruption potentially influential on prices and policies. Beyond military risk, the episodes highlight how energy infrastructure can become a flashpoint in broader regional rivalries, with potential spillovers into global markets, supply chains, and strategic competition in the Persian Gulf.