Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at an attack on Iran\u2019s South Pars gas field, Pakistan and Afghanistan pausing strikes, and Ukraine\u2019s efforts to secure Hungary\u2019s support.<\/p>\n
Targeting Energy Infrastructure<\/p>\n
Iran vowed<\/a> on Wednesday to strike oil and gas facilities throughout the Persian Gulf in retaliation for an attack on the country\u2019s South Pars gas field earlier that day. The operation marks one of the first reported strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure since the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began last month, and it risks exacerbating an already unprecedented disruption<\/a> to global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at an attack on Iran\u2019s South Pars gas field, Pakistan and Afghanistan pausing strikes, and Ukraine\u2019s efforts to secure Hungary\u2019s support.<\/p>\n Targeting Energy Infrastructure<\/p>\n Iran vowed<\/a> on Wednesday to strike oil and gas facilities throughout the Persian Gulf in retaliation for an attack on the country\u2019s South Pars gas field earlier that day. The operation marks one of the first reported strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure since the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began last month, and it risks exacerbating an already unprecedented disruption<\/a> to global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n South Pars is part of the world\u2019s largest natural gas reserve, which is jointly owned by Iran and Qatar. (The latter calls its portion of the reserve North Dome.) Both nations blamed Israel for the attack; the Israeli military has not yet commented on the accusations. Tehran\u2019s oil ministry reported on Wednesday that numerous Iranian facilities at South Pars were damaged<\/a>, though the extent of the destruction remains unclear. Qatar\u2019s facilities did not appear to have been targeted.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s attack was a \u201cdangerous & irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region,\u201d Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari wrote<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n Until now, Israel and the United States have largely refrained from targeting Iran\u2019s energy production facilities, in part due to fear of Tehran retaliating with strikes on Gulf countries\u2019 oil and gas industries. It appears that their concerns were warranted.<\/p>\n In response to the South Pars attack, Iran characterized<\/a> several prominent regional energy sites as \u201cdirect and legitimate targets\u201d and warned them to be evacuated immediately ahead of looming strikes. The facilities listed were Saudi Arabia\u2019s Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex; the United Arab Emirates\u2019 al-Hosn gas field; and Qatar\u2019s Mesaieed Petrochemical Complex and Ras Laffan Refinery.<\/p>\n Later on Wednesday, QatarEnergy said<\/a> in a statement<\/a> that Ras Laffan Industrial City, which is operated by QatarEnergy and is where the refinery as well as other natural gas facilities and infrastructure are located, had been the \u201csubject of missile attacks\u201d that caused \u201cextensive damage\u201d that evening.<\/p>\n Oil prices shot up<\/a> on Wednesday in light of the South Pars attack and ensuing Iranian threat, with Brent crude costs hitting more than $109 per barrel. However, experts suspect that the South Pars attack will have a limited effect on the global supply of gas, since Iran uses most of its reserves domestically; South Pars makes up as much as 75 percent of the country\u2019s natural gas production.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Israeli forces killed<\/a> Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in an overnight strike on Wednesday. The operation follows Israel\u2019s assassination on Tuesday of Ali Larijani<\/a>, the secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of Iran\u2019s Basij militia, an all-volunteer paramilitary force used to repress protests inside Iran. Tehran has confirmed<\/a> all three of their deaths.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael\u2019s policy is clear and unequivocal: No one in Iran has immunity, and everyone is a target,\u201d Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz<\/a> said on Wednesday. \u201cThe prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and I have authorized the Israel Defense Forces to target any senior Iranian official for whom an intelligence and operational opportunity arises, without the need for additional approval.\u201d<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Most Read<\/p>\n What We\u2019re Following<\/p>\n A short reprieve. Pakistan announced an immediate pause<\/a> in strikes against Afghanistan on Wednesday, to remain in place until midnight on Monday. Islamabad said the decision was made ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr and was at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.<\/p>\n \u201cPakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms,\u201d Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote<\/a> on X. However, \u201cin case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan,\u201d military operations will resume immediately and with renewed intensity.<\/p>\n Afghanistan also agreed<\/a> to the pause for Eid al-Fitr but stopped short of providing its own time frame. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote<\/a> on X that, similar to Islamabad, Kabul would \u201crespond courageously to any aggression in the event of a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n The pause comes just two days after the Taliban accused Pakistani forces of targeting a drug rehabilitation center<\/a> in Kabul, killing more than 400 people in the single deadliest incident since fighting between the two countries erupted last month. (On Wednesday, the United Nations\u2019 mission in Afghanistan provided a lower figure, saying<\/a> it had recorded 143 deaths in the strike.) Islamabad has denied<\/a> Kabul\u2019s claims, arguing that the targets were \u201cmilitary and terrorist infrastructure,\u201d not a civilian site.<\/p>\n Restoring the Druzhba pipeline. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed<\/a> on Tuesday to repair an oil pipeline that transports Russian crude through Ukraine into Hungary. The decision comes after European Union officials offered to pay Kyiv to restore operations at the Druzhba pipeline<\/a> in an effort to persuade Budapest to lift its veto on a massive aid package.<\/p>\n In December, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban backed a nearly $104 billion EU loan to fund Ukraine\u2019s war effort. However, Orban appears to have reneged<\/a> on that promise, accusing Kyiv of deliberately blocking oil flows into Hungary to tip the scales in favor of Peter Magyar, Orban\u2019s main opponent in elections next month.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s no oil, there\u2019s no money,\u201d Orban said on Tuesday. \u201cIf President Zelensky wants to get his money from Brussels, he needs to open the Druzhba oil pipeline.\u201d Orban\u2019s populist government has repeatedly aligned<\/a> itself with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a shift away<\/a> from its European peers.<\/p>\n Zelensky, however, has denied Hungary\u2019s claims. \u201cAllegations that Ukraine is deliberately obstructing oil transportation through the Druzhba pipeline are unfounded,\u201d he wrote<\/a> in a letter to European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday. \u201cThe disruption results from recent [R]ussian terrorist attacks on the pipeline and surrounding infrastructure.\u201d Moscow has routinely targeted<\/a> critical energy facilities in Ukraine, including the country\u2019s power grid.<\/p>\n Mercosur\u2019s last holdout. Paraguay became<\/a> the final South American nation on Tuesday to ratify the landmark EU-Mercosur trade deal<\/a>. The agreement creates one of the largest free trade zones<\/a> in the world, with an integrated market of some 780 million consumers accounting for roughly 25 percent of global GDP. \u201cThis is a historic agreement for Paraguay, for the region, and for the world,\u201d National Deputy Rodrigo Gamarra said. The deal now heads to Paraguayan President Santiago Pe\u00f1a for his approval.<\/p>\n Although all four voting Mercosur members have now signed off on the framework, the European side remains fragmented. Pushback from European farmers<\/a>\u2014who fear that the deal will flood the EU with cheap food imports<\/a>\u2014have forced some European Parliament members to object to the trade deal\u2019s implementation. In January, lawmakers sent the agreement<\/a> to the European Court of Justice for review, effectively freezing its ratification for up to two years.<\/p>\n However, such resistance has not stopped the European Commission from moving forward. Von der Leyen announced<\/a> last month that the EU would \u201cprovisionally implement the agreement\u201d until final ratification was given. This means that the removal of tariffs<\/a> could begin as soon as May.<\/p>\n Odds and Ends<\/p>\n It\u2019s the season of love for one Chinese university. The Sichuan Southwest Vocational College of Civil Aviation urged<\/a> students this week to \u201cenjoy the flowers, fall in love\u201d during their upcoming midterm break. The notice comes as Beijing continues to promote policies that Chinese authorities hope will encourage the country\u2019s citizens to have more children; China\u2019s birth rate<\/a> fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, hitting a record low. All you need is love?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at an attack on Iran\u2019s South Pars gas field, Pakistan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6529,855,34,217,37,899,8648,8649,271,69,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-25746","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tehran","8":"tag-energy-and-the-environment","9":"tag-homepage_regional_middle_east_africa","10":"tag-iran","11":"tag-iran-israel","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-oil-production","14":"tag-paywall-free","15":"tag-post-to-buffer","16":"tag-qatar","17":"tag-tehran","18":"tag-war"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116252403451872066","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}