An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader defended Tehran’s strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas complex in March, saying strikes on regional energy infrastructure were part of the country’s deterrence strategy.
“Attacking Ras Laffan’s gas facilities caused problems for the whole world,” Mohammad Mokhber said in remarks published by local media on October 19.
“The main deterrent is that if they hit our power plants and petrochemical facilities, we hit those of nine countries,” he added.
Mokhber was referring to Israel and Arab countries that host American military bases used in attacks on Iran during a US-Israeli war on Iran in late February.
During the war, several petrochemical plants including two main hubs in southern Iran came under attack.
Iran struck Ras Laffan on March 18, after Israel bombed Iran’s South Pars gas facilities in southern Iran. Tehran threatened to target regional oil and gas facilities in retaliation and fired missiles towards Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Qatar’s Defence Ministry said Iran launched five ballistic missiles at the country. Air defences intercepted four, while one hit the Ras Laffan industrial area. Further strikes damaged other parts of the complex and sparked fires.
State-owned QatarEnergy said two of the country’s 14 liquefied natural gas (LNG) production trains were damaged. With a combined annual capacity of 12.8mn tonnes, the trains account for about 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity.
QatarEnergy chief executive Saad al-Kaabi, who is also minister of state for energy affairs, said repairs could take three to five years. The damage could cut Qatar’s annual revenue by about $20bn and disrupt gas supplies to Europe and Asia, he said.
Qatar condemned the attack as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and a direct threat to national security and regional stability.
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said Doha had condemned Israel’s strike on Iranian facilities, but Iran’s retaliation had directly targeted Qatar.
The attack heightened concerns over global energy supplies. Ras Laffan is one of the world’s main LNG production and export hubs, and prolonged disruption could affect energy markets and gas-importing countries.