Dubai. Iran intensified its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf on Thursday in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian gas field, as the price of Brent crude oil has now soared by above 60% since the war began.

The strikes sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran’s Arab neighbors directly into the conflict. Tehran's targeting of energy production further stressed global supplies already under pressure because of Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.

Since the United States and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, Iran’s top leaders have been killed in airstrikes, and the country’s military capabilities have been severely degraded. Still, Iran — now led by the son of the supreme leader killed in the war’s opening salvo — remains capable of missile and drone attacks rattling its Gulf Arab neighbors and a global economy dependent on the energy they produce.

Underscoring the danger to ships in the region, a vessel was set ablaze off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and another was damaged off Qatar. But efforts to bypass the strait were also under pressure: An Iranian drone hit a Saudi refinery on the Red Sea, which the country had been hoping to use as an alternative exit route.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked to as high as $118 a barrel. The European benchmark for natural gas prices rose 17% on Thursday and has doubled in the past month.

Energy Infrastructure Is Targeted around the Gulf
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE denounced the Iranian attacks. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called them a “dangerous escalation.”

But Iran showed no signs of backing down. Saudi Arabia said its SAMREF refinery in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu was hit. Saudi Arabia had begun pumping large volumes of oil west toward the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

Qatar, a key source of natural gas for world markets, said extensive damage was caused by Iranian missiles hitting the Ras Laffan LNG facility, where production had already been halted after earlier attacks. Damage to the facility could delay Qatar's ability to get supplies to the market even after the war ends.

Two refineries in Kuwait and gas operations in Abu Dhabi also were targeted by Iran, local authorities said.

In Israel, more than a half-dozen waves of Iranian attacks targeting large parts of the country sent millions of people to shelters. The strikes caused damage to buildings but no significant casualties were reported.

After the latest Iranian barrage, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said the electricity grid in northern Israel sustained some damage. He said crews had restored electricity to some areas and were working to restore it in others.

Israeli media showed images of black smoke rising from an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that US forces continue to attack deeper into Iranian territory, with warplanes hunting Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz and helicopters striking Iranian drones. Caine said the US military has also dropped 5,000-pound bombs on underground weapon-storage facilities.

Israel said Thursday it struck Iranian targets in the Caspian Sea for the first time. Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the strikes hit dozens of targets, including ships, a shipyard, and a command center.

The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a senior administration official said. The department sent the request to the White House, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information.

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