Qatar says Iran missile attack sparks fire, causes damage at gas facility

In a statement on Wednesday, QatarEnergy said there was “extensive damage” following the “missile attacks” on Ras Laffan Industrial City.

“All personnel have been accounted for and no casualties have been reported at this time,” the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer added.

The announcements came hours after Iran threatened to attack oil and gas facilities across the Gulf region in retaliation for an Israeli attack on its South Pars gasfield, as the fallout from the United States-Israeli war on the country continues to escalate.

Iran’s warning of attacks was directed at Qatar’s Mesaieed Petrochemical Complex, Mesaieed Holding Company and Ras Laffan Refinery; Saudi Arabia’s Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex; and the United Arab Emirates’ Al Hosn Gasfield.

In a statement, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned “the brutal” Iranian targeting of Ras Laffan Industrial City.

“Qatar considers this assault a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, and a direct threat to its national security,” it said.

On March 2, Qatar suspended LNG production following an attack on the Ras Laffan facility as well as on a water tank at a power plant in Mesaieed Industrial City.

The Ras Laffan complex, located 80km (50 miles) northeast of Doha, is the world’s largest LNG production facility and produces about 20 percent of the global LNG supply, playing a major role in balancing both Asian and European markets’ demand for the fuel.

“This is what Qatar’s wealth is built on,” Al Jazeera’s Victoria Gatenby said. “We’ve also have had alerts here in Doha and the threat level has been raised.”

The attack comes as Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries in Riyadh to discuss finding an off-ramp from this conflict.

“The focus of this meeting now will very much be on the threats they are facing from Iran and dealing with the aftermath of those attacks,” Gatenby said.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence on Wednesday said its air defences had intercepted four ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh, as well as two launched towards the country’s eastern region.

Alerts were issued warning of danger in the governorates of Riyadh and Al-Kharj by Saudi Arabia’s National Early Warning Platform for Emergency Cases.

The UAE’s Defence Ministry said its air defences dealt with 13 ballistic missiles and 27 drones coming from Iran.

It added that since the start of the attacks, it has faced 327 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,699 drones.