- Qatar orders Iran’s security and military diplomats to leave the country within 24 hours
- Iran lashed out against energy sites in the Gulf after Israel struck Iran’s key gas field
A major energy hub in Qatar suffered “extensive damage” from a missile attack on Wednesday as Iran targeted Gulf countries in response to an Israeli strike against Iran’s Pars gas field.
Drones also targeted gas facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE came under fire on Wednesday evening after Iran warned it would strike its neighbors.
Qatar’s foreign ministry ordered Iran’s military and security attaches along with their staff to leave the country within 24 hours in response to the attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City.
QatarEnergy said that “extensive damage” has been caused by the missile attacks, shortly after the country’s interior ministry reported a fire resulting from an Iranian attack on the area.
“Emergency response teams were deployed immediately to contain the resulting fires,” the world’s second-largest LNG exporter said in a statement. No casualties were reported and all personnel were accounted for, it said.
Qatar condemned the attack saying that it represents a “direct threat” to its national security. Iran insists on targeting Qatar and its neighboring countries in an “irresponsible approach,” the Qatari foreign ministry added.
Qatar’s interior ministry earlier said that civil defence personnel were dealing with a fire in the Ras Laffan area after an Iranian attack. The ministry said that the fire in Ras Laffan area was preliminarily brought under control, with no injuries reported.
Ras Laffan, located 80 kilometers north of Doha, is an energy-industry hub and hosts several international companies.
Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed eight ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh on Wednesday and attempted drone attacks on gas facilities in the Eastern Region.
The attacks followed strikes early on Wednesday against the Pars gas field, which is the Iranian sector of the world’s largest natural gas deposit shared with Qatar across the Gulf.
The attack was widely reported in Israeli media to have been carried out by Israel with US consent, though neither country acknowledged immediate responsibility.
Iran’s Fars news agency reported that gas tanks and parts of a refinery had been hit.
Qatar blamed the attack against the Iranian facilities on Israel, and called it “dangerous and irresponsible” that put global energy security at risk. The UAE and Oman also denounced the attack on Iran.
However Iran’s retaliation was aimed at the Arab Gulf countires, which it has targeted with waves of drones and missiles since the conflict started on February 28.
Arab News with AFP and Reuters
