In a move which has shifted the US-Israel war on Iran up a gear, Israel struck Iran’s critical South Pars gasfield on Wednesday. Soon after, Iran hit energy facilities across the Gulf region, including a gas facility at Qatar’s Ras Laffan plant early on Thursday.It is the latest escalation in a war that began on February 28 when the United States and Israel bombed Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials in Tehran. Iran has responded by targeting Israel, but has also struck many of its Gulf neighbours.Here is what happened at South Pars and Ras Laffan, and why it is so significant.What happened at South Pars and Ras Laffan?On Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that natural gas facilities associated with the South Pars field had been attacked.Following this, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to attack oil and gas infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a move that would further seriously disrupt the region’s energy infrastructure, which has already been fractured by the war, now in its 20th day.Hours later, Iranian missiles struck a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City in northern Qatar. Doha reported that the attack caused three fires.Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said a fire at the site had been preliminarily brought under control and that no injuries were reported. How has Qatar responded to Iranian strikes on energy facilities?Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday: “The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the blata …
