Iranian missiles cause ‘extensive damage’ to world’s biggest natural gas plant in Qatar as Tehran furiously hits back across Gulf following US-Israeli strike on fuel facility – sending price of crude SOARING

The Qatari government has said it is dealing with a fire in the area of Ras Laffan – home to a refinery that Iranian state media earlier said it would target and warned should be evacuated.

Qatar is one of several Gulf Arab states that had been bracing for Iran’s retaliation after Israel struck Iranian facilities in the South Pars field, the world’s largest gas field, today.

The South Pars and the adjacent North Dome fields have been shared between Iran and Qatar for years.

Qatars Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansari, condemned Israels attack on the key economic target as being ‘reckless and irresponsible’.

QatarEnergy said:

Emergency response teams were deployed immediately to contain the resulting fires, as extensive damage has been caused.

All personnel have been accounted for and no casualties have been reported at this time

Striking video shows the moment Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was targeted by missiles.

A bright orange fireball lit up the sky as huge explosions rocked the city.

It comes just hours after Iran threatened to wage a ‘full scale economic war’ by attacking energy facilities across the Middle East.

Oil prices have surged today after Iran said the US and Israel struck one of its gas facilities.

Brent oil rose 5% to over $108 a barrel after Iran vowed to hit energy facilities throughout the Gulf in retaliation to what it said was an attack on a facility on the Gulf coast serving a massive gas field it shares with Qatar.

The three main US stock indexes all opened lower, and European stock markets reversed earlier gains.

Earlier today, oil prices fell slightly after Iraq said it had resumed limited oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan, using a pipeline that avoids the effectively shut Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil flows.

The prices dropped despite Iran vowing revenge after Israel killed security chief Ali Larijani, a key force leading Iran since the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the first strikes of the war.

The latest flareup in violence appears to rule out any opening of the Strait of Hormuz – which in peacetime carries about a fifth of global oil and LNG trade – to shipping in the near term.

Oil prices have soared by five percent as Iran targets oil and gas facilities across the Middle East after threatening ‘full scale economic war’.

Energy sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have been evacuated after the regime said it would pummel them with strikes in ‘the coming hours’.

‘These centres have become direct and legitimate targets and will be targeted in the coming hours,’ the Islamic Republic warned.

‘Therefore, all citizens, residents, and employees are requested to immediately leave these areas and move to a safe distance without any delay.’

The evacuation warning came after Iranian facilities in South Pars and Asaluyeh were struck by Israeli missiles.

An Iranian assault would further devastate the global economy, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz already sparking fears of a worldwide economic crisis.

Images show how the entire sky was lit up in Ras Laffan in the aftermath of the Iranian missile strike.

The industrial hub is home to Qatar’s largest gas infrastructure.

Trust between the Arab Gulf states and the Islamic Republic is now thought to be at an all time low.

The defence ministry in Saudi Arabia says four missiles launched towards Riyadh have been intercepted and destroyed.

Debris from one of the missiles fell near a refinery south of the city, the ministry added.

Sadia Arabia has said four residents have been injured by falling shrapnel from a ballistic missile which was intercepted over Riyadh.

The Civil Defence said danger alerts for the capital and Al-Kharj had now been lifted.

However, it warned:

Avoid gathering or filming, stay away from hazardous areas, and report any danger

The fire in Ras Laffan has been brought under control, Qatar’s interior ministry has said.

No injuries were reported.

The United Arab Emirates has said its air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran.

Qatar’s Ministry of Defence said its air defences successfully intercepted two ballistic missiles aimed at Ras Laffan Industrial City.

It follows a statement from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which read:

The Ministry emphasizes that the State of Qatar has repeatedly called for the necessity of refraining from targeting civilian facilities and energy infrastructure, including those in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to preserve the capabilities of the peoples of the region and safeguard international security and peace.

However, the Iranian side continues its escalatory policies that are pushing the region toward the abyss and drawing in countries that are not parties to this crisis into the circle of conflict.

The Ministry reiterates its affirmation that the State of Qatar reserves its right to respond, in accordance with Article (51) of the United Nations Charter and the right to self-defense as enshrined in international law, emphasizing that it will not hesitate to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security, and the safety of its citizens and residents on its territory.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned of ‘consequences beyond our control’ after the attack on its South Pars gas field.

He warned the scope of the consequences would ‘engulf the entire world’.

Qatar is one of several Gulf Arab states that had been bracing for Iran’s retaliation after Israel struck Iranian facilities in the South Pars field, the world’s largest gas field, today.

Qatar has called the missile attack at Ras Laffan Industrial City a ‘direct threat to its national security and the stability to the region’.

The country’s foreign ministry wrote on social media:

The Iranian side continues its escalatory policies that are pushing the region toward the abyss and drawing in countries that are not parties to this crisis into the circle of conflict.

The statement added Qatar ‘reserves its right to respond’ and that it will ‘not hesitate to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security, and the safety of its citizens’.