Both sides in Iran war ratchet up attacks on energy facilities, as oil prices surge

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel killed Iran’s intelligence minister as it kept up its campaign against the Islamic Republic’s top leadership and reportedly attacked an Iranian offshore natural gas field Wednesday, as the war escalated pressure on the region’s economic lifeblood: energy.

Iran condemned the strike on its massive South Pars natural gas field, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warning of “uncontrollable consequences” that “could engulf the entire world.”

Tehran kept up attacks on its Persian Gulf neighbors’ energy facilities, striking a major natural gas facility in Qatar, as it continued to squeeze the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel — through which one-fifth of the world’s oil travels.

The price of oil surged a further 5% to over $108 a barrel on international markets, increasing the price of gasoline and other goods. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, is now up close to 50% since the start of the war.

As the Trump administration looks for ways to boost oil supplies and lower prices, the Treasury Department eased sanctions on Venezuela on Wednesday, saying U.S. companies will be allowed to do business with the country’s state-owned oil and gas company.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz promised “significant surprises” to come after Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, was killed in an overnight strike. A day earlier, Israel killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani.

Iran retaliated Wednesday by unleashing missile strikes against Israel, where two people were killed near Tel Aviv. Iran also attacked Saudi Arabia’s vast Eastern Province, home to many of its oil fields, as well as Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

The United States was informed about Israel’s plans to strike Iran’s massive South Pars natural gas field but did not take part in it, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, would not say if the Trump administration agreed with the Israeli decision to attack the gas field — part of the world’s largest such resource and a pillar of Iran’s energy supplies.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said at least four people were killed Wednesday in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Awa as Iran fired missiles toward Israel. At least six others were injured.

It was not immediately clear if the deaths were from a direct strike or debris from a missile interception. The fatalities were the first in the occupied West Bank during the Iran war, though missile debris has damaged homes and businesses.

Iran has been targeting the energy infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbors, as well as military bases, as part of a strategy to drive up oil prices and put pressure on the U.S. and Israel to back down.

QatarEnergy said on X that a missile hit its massive Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility, sparking a fire that caused “extensive” damage before it was extinguished. The company had already halted production there because of Iranian attacks.

Since the war started, a few ships have gotten through — some Iranian, but also vessels from India, Turkey, and elsewhere. Iran insists the waterway is open, just not to the U.S. or many of its allies.

President Donald Trump has expressed growing frustration that no allies have stepped forward to send ships to help open the strait. On Tuesday, he posted on social media: “WE DON’T NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”

A top British military official, Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, said Wednesday that any reopening of the strait is a long way off because of “asymmetric threats” to shipping that include mines, attack boats, and drones.

Iraq, which paused operations at its main oil terminal on the Persian Gulf last week, said Wednesday it had reached a deal with the autonomous northern Iraqi Kurdish administration to begin exporting 250,000 barrels of crude oil daily via pipeline to a port in Turkey.

Saudi Arabia is also bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, sending some of its oil by pipeline across the country to be shipped from a Red Sea port.

Responding to the killing of Larijani, the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said Wednesday it had attacked central Israel with multiple-warhead missiles that have a better chance of evading defense systems. Footage filmed by the Associated Press showed at least one such missile releasing a cluster of munitions over Israel.

Larijani was a senior policy adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January for his role “coordinating” Iran’s violent suppression of nationwide protests. Soleimani was also sanctioned by the U.S. and other nations for his role in suppressing dissent for years.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, expressed condolences for the slaying of Larijani, according to a written statement published in Iranian media. “Undoubtedly, the assassination of such a person shows the extent of his importance and the hatred of the enemies of Islam towards him,” the statement said.

The younger Khamenei has not made a public appearance since his father was killed in the war’s opening salvos, during which he also reportedly was wounded.

The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency said that an airstrike hit a courthouse complex in Larestan, a county in southern Iran, and that at least eight people were killed. More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict started, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

Mizan also reported that Iran executed a man on charges of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The report identified him as Kourosh Keyvani and alleged he “provided images and information on sensitive locations” to Israel.

Sweden’s foreign ministry condemned what it said was the execution in Iran of a Swedish citizen arrested last year. Additional details were not available.

Keeping up pressure on Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters, Israeli strikes hit multiple apartment buildings in Beirut, killing at least a dozen people.

Israel flattened an apartment building in central Beirut about an hour after issuing an evacuation notice — the fourth time the building had been targeted. Israel’s military claimed, without providing evidence, that it was being used by Hezbollah to store “millions of dollars intended to finance its activities.”

Ten people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Two others were killed in an airstrike in Lebanon’s western Bekaa Valley, it said.

Israeli strikes have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese — roughly 20% of the population — according to the Lebanese government, which says 912 people have been killed and 2,221 wounded.

In Israel, 14 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.