Iran faces furious calls to halt its attacks on the Gulf, which have raised fears of a prolonged shock to global energy markets.
After strikes on its oil and gas installations, Qatar’s largest producer said some exports could be affected for up to five years.
In Saudi Arabia, a drone hit Aramco’s Samref refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, prompting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to warn that the war was at risk of getting “out of control”.
“Stop attacking your neighbours. They were never parties to the conflict,” Mr Guterres told Iran. He added that the US and Israel should consider it “high time to end this war”.
Oil and gas prices surged again on Thursday, with Brent crude reaching $119 a barrel before easing slightly. European gas prices also soared, reaching their highest in more than three years.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, said the attacks on oil and gas production amounted to “global economic warfare”.
He described the attacks on energy sites, including some operated by Adnoc, as unjustified, unprovoked and illegal. “These are civilian facilities … sustaining economies and everyday life far beyond our region,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
The UAE’s air defence systems on Thursday intercepted seven ballistic missiles and 15 drones launched from Iran, the Ministry of Defence said.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for an “immediate moratorium” on attacks on energy. “It is time to open a path towards de-escalation in order to restore stability in the Middle East,” he said.
The chief executive of QatarEnergy said the company may have to declare force majeure on exports to Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China for up to five years.
Saad Al Kaabi told Reuters that the Iranian attacks had knocked out 17 per cent of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas export capacity, worth an estimated $20 billion a year.
An Iranian missile struck Qatar’s Ras Al Laffan industrial site, a centre of LNG production, on Wednesday evening, just hours after a strike – reportedly carried out by Israel – on the South Pars gasfield, which Iran shares with Qatar.
The UAE on Thursday welcomed the International Maritime Organisation’s condemnation of Iran’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s attacks on shipping “represent a grave danger to life, particularly seafarers, and a serious risk to the marine environment”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Foreign Ministers of Arab and Muslim countries have called on Iran to halt its attacks immediately.
“The future of relations with Iran depends on respecting the sovereignty of states,” ministers from 12 countries, including the UAE, said at a summit in Riyadh.
Despite calls for de-escalation, Tehran said it would show “zero restraint” if its infrastructure is attacked again. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s response had involved only a “fraction of our power”.
