Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) threatened to target refineries and petrochemical complexes in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on gas facilities in Iran’s southern Bushehr province. This came hours after Israeli air strikes killed Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib, the third high-profile assassination in 24 hours.
Iran-Israel war updates on March 18, 2026
“Moments ago, parts of the gas facilities located in the South Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in Asaluyeh were struck by projectiles fired by the American-Zionist enemy,” Iranian state television reported on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) evening. The South Pars/North Dome mega-field is the largest known gas reserve in the world. Iran had earlier warned that any attack on its energy infrastructure would trigger retaliatory strikes at energy facilities in the region.
Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya military command said in a statement that it would “severely strike the source of the aggression and consider targeting the fuel, energy and gas infrastructure” of the countries from which the attacks were launched. Iran says the U.S. is using its bases in the Persian Gulf monarchies to launch its attacks.
Retaliation targets
The IRGC issued “urgent evacuation” orders for people living near key energy production facilities in the three Persian Gulf countries. “Five complexes, two refineries, two petrochemical complexes, and a gas field in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have become now legitimate targets for Iranian retaliation,” the Guards said in a statement.
The facilities named in the warning are the Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex in Saudi Arabia, the Al‑Hosn Gas Field in the UAE, and the Al‑Mesaieed Holding and Petrochemical Complex, as well as Phases 1 and 2 of the Ras Laffan Refinery in Qatar.
According to Iran’s Oil Ministry, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeted parts of the refinery installations in Asaluyeh that process natural gas from South Pars, located on the maritime border between Iran and Qatar. “We have repeatedly warned your leaders against following this dangerous path and dragging their peoples into a major gamble with their fate,” the IRGC said. “Therefore, they bear full responsibility for all consequences that will result from this course.”
Slew of assassinations
Earlier in the day, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said an overnight strike on Tehran had killed Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib.
“On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” Mr. Katz said during a security assessment, according to his office. “The intensity of the strikes in Iran is increasing. The Iranian Intelligence Minister Khatib was also eliminated overnight,” he said.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that Khatib had been killed. “The cowardly assassination of my dear colleagues Esmaeil Khatib, Ali Larijani, and Aziz Nasirzadeh, alongside some of their family members and accompanying team, has left us in deep mourning,” he wrote in a social media post.
In separate strikes on Monday night, Israel had killed Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij paramilitary forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “authorised the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] to [assassinate] any senior Iranian figure without the need for further approval,” Mr. Katz said.
‘Solid political structure’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview that Israel’s assassinations would not destabilise Iran’s political system. “I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic, and social institutions,” Mr. Araghchi told Al Jazeera.
“The presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure,” said Mr. Araghchi. “Of course, individuals are influential, and each person plays their role – some better, some worse, some less – but what matters is that the political system in Iran is a very solid structure.”
Published – March 18, 2026 10:58 pm IST
