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Qatar Expels Iranian Military Attachés After Missile Strike on Ras Laffan LNG Hub

Qatar Expels Iranian Military Attachés After Missile Strike on Ras Laffan LNG Hub
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Qatar expelled Iran’s military and security attachés and their staff on Wednesday, giving them 24 hours to leave, after Iranian missiles struck the Ras Laffan Industrial City gas hub and caused “extensive damage” at the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export complex. The move escalated a rapidly widening confrontation in the Gulf that immediately jolted global oil and gas markets, sending Brent crude toward $110 a barrel and lifting UK gas prices by about 6 percent. turkiyetoday +1

QatarEnergy said emergency crews contained fires at Ras Laffan, all personnel were accounted for and no casualties had been reported, but warned of significant damage to facilities that underpin roughly one‑fifth of global LNG exports. english +1 The strike came less than three weeks after Doha halted LNG production following earlier attacks on Ras Laffan and another industrial site, raising fears of a prolonged disruption to a cornerstone of the world’s gas supply. timesofindia

Diplomatic Break with Tehran Signals New Gulf Red Line

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry labelled the Iranian barrage “a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of state sovereignty, and a direct threat to its national security,” as it declared the Iranian embassy’s military and security attachés persona non grata. english +1 Local media reported that support staff linked to those offices were also ordered out, an unusually sweeping expulsion for a country that has long positioned itself as a mediator between Iran and its Gulf rivals. unn

The decision aligned Doha more closely with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council states that have described Iranian strikes on Saudi, Emirati and Qatari energy facilities in recent weeks as intolerable. GCC foreign ministers had already warned this month that “all options” were on the table if Iran did not halt attacks, and regional diplomats said the Ras Laffan hit may harden calls for a coordinated response. english Tehran, which had earlier issued evacuation warnings for Gulf oil and gas sites after strikes on its own South Pars gas field, framed its latest operations as retaliation and vowed to “severely strike the origin of aggression” against its energy infrastructure. newsable +1

A Direct Shock to Global LNG and Energy Prices

Missiles hitting Ras Laffan—an industrial city that processes gas from Qatar’s North Field and feeds massive LNG liquefaction trains—posed an immediate threat to about 20 percent of global LNG supply, heightening anxiety in Europe and Asia already grappling with reduced Russian gas flows. timesofindia +1 Analysts said the actual loss of export volumes would depend on how many liquefaction trains and loading facilities were damaged and how long repairs take, but warned that even short‑term outages could tighten an already stressed market. gulf-times +1

Benchmark prices reacted within hours: Brent crude climbed more than 5 percent to just under $110 a barrel, with some trades topping $111, while UK gas futures jumped around 6 percent before easing back. shafaq +1 The United States moved to cushion domestic impacts by temporarily waiving the Jones Act to allow more flexible coastwise shipping of oil and gas, and traders reported a surge in demand inquiries for LNG cargoes from alternative suppliers, including the United States and Australia. shafaq +1 One energy analyst said the disruption “could cause a lasting global gas shortage” if outages persist, though the scale of any long‑term crunch will hinge on the pace of repairs and the conflict’s trajectory. turkiyetoday +1

The Bigger Picture

The strike on Ras Laffan and Qatar’s subsequent expulsion of Iranian defence officials marked a turning point in a conflict that had previously spared most core Gulf export facilities, raising the risk of a drawn‑out shock to global energy markets and a deeper Gulf‑Iran rift. timesofindia +1 With key LNG and oil hubs now openly targeted and diplomatic channels fraying, governments from Europe to East Asia face renewed urgency to diversify supplies and shore up energy security as they head into the next winter heating season.