
Iran says it will attack Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE’s oil and gas infrastructure after offshore field hit
BNN Bloomberg
Israel killed another top Iranian official -- the intelligence minister -- in its campaign against the Islamic Republic’s leadership, and an Iranian offshore natural gas field was struck Wednesday amid the war’s escalating pressure on the region’s economic lifeblood: energy.
Iran has been striking its Persian Gulf neighbours’ energy facilities since the war started on Feb. 28, and has made the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel -- through which one-fifth of the world’s oil travels -- nearly impassable.
The price of oil surged another 5 per cent to over US$108 a barrel on international markets, increasing the price of gasoline and other goods, and squeezing the global economy. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, is now up close to 50 per cent since the start of the war.
As the Trump administration looks for ways to boost oil supplies and lower prices, the Treasury Department on Wednesday eased sanctions on Venezuela, saying U.S. companies will be allowed to do business with the country’s state-owned oil and gas company.
After Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed in an overnight strike, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz promised “significant surprises” to come. A day earlier, Israel killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani.
Iran retaliated Wednesday by unleashing attacks against Israel, where two people were killed near Tel Aviv. Iran also attacked Saudi Arabia’s vast Eastern Province, home to many of its oil fields, as well as Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Oil tankers are crossing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s actions to choke traffic through the shipping route have not hurt the U.S. economy, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Tuesday, reiterating the Trump administration’s position that the war should be over in weeks, not months.












