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A new phase targeting oil and gas infrastructure in the Persian Gulf threatens to hurt businesses and customers around the world for months or even years.
March 23, 2026, 5:02 a.m. ET
The game has changed.
From the moment the United States and Israel attacked Iran, the nightmare scenario for the global economy that most people talked about was the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, the most important choke point for oil on the planet.
But a different and more disturbing nightmare began to unfold with direct attacks on the backbone of the Persian Gulf region’s energy production: the prospect of millions of dollars’ worth of long-term damage to facilities that supply a critical portion of the world’s natural gas.
Now, instead of wondering if the war would last for days or weeks, officials and economists are speculating about effects that could last for months and years.
“We have moved from stopping transit, which is a temporary measure, to attacking infrastructure, which has long-term effects,” said David Goldwyn, a former U.S. diplomat and Energy Department official.
This new phase of the war began Wednesday, when Iran carried out a retaliatory missile strike on Ras Laffan, Qatar’s vast energy complex. That target produces roughly a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, a transportable fuel used to heat homes, cook food, power factories and generate electricity throughout Asia and Europe.
Iran hit other refineries and gas facilities in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Thursday. The strikes followed an Israeli attack on Iran’s South Pars natural gas field.
