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Israel Strikes Iran Gas Field

Israeli strikes killed Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, on March 18, 2026, just hours after eliminating two other top Iranian officials—Ali Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij militia. The assassinations were part of a broader Israeli and U.S. military campaign that began on February 28, targeting Iran’s leadership and strategic infrastructure.

In a major escalation, Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gas field, the world’s largest natural gas field, located off the coast of Bushehr and shared with Qatar. The attack damaged petrochemical facilities in Asaluyeh, cutting off gas supplies to Iraq and worsening domestic energy shortages in Iran. U.S. officials confirmed awareness of the strike but stated they did not participate.

Iran responded swiftly, launching missile and drone attacks on Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. Iranian forces targeted energy infrastructure and military sites, with missiles killing two people in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv. Iran also intensified its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil transit and pushing Brent crude above $110 per barrel.

Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, escalated attacks on Israel, firing rockets into Israeli territory. In response, Israel conducted intense airstrikes across Beirut and southern Lebanon, killing at least 12 people, including a senior Hezbollah media official, and destroying key bridges over the Litani River. Over 1 million Lebanese have been displaced, and more than 900 killed since the conflict began.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed retaliation, stating the killers of Larijani “will have to pay.” Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, warned the attacks on energy infrastructure could have “uncontrollable consequences” with global ramifications.

Qatar condemned both the Israeli strike on South Pars and Iran’s retaliatory attack on its energy hub, which caused extensive damage and halted most of its gas exports. The UAE and EU also denounced the targeting of energy infrastructure, calling it a dangerous escalation threatening global energy security.

On his part, President Trump on Truth Social wrote: "Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen. Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility. NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar - In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before. I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so."

Iranian authorities claims over 1,300 civilians have died since the war began. The U.S. has lost 13 service members, and Israel 14 civilians. The conflict continues to spiral, with rising fears of a broader regional war and a global energy crisis.