Qatar says Iranian ballistic missiles hit major energy site, causing damage

Qatar’s Defense Ministry said that the country had been attacked with ballistic missiles from Iran targeting Ras Laffan Industrial City. The Interior Ministry said Civil Defense was dealing with a fire in the industrial area caused by the Iranian targeting and said no casualties were reported.

The statement appeared to provide new official detail about the earlier Iranian strike on Ras Laffan, Qatar’s main liquefied natural gas and gas-processing hub.

QatarEnergy had said earlier that emergency crews were sent to contain fires and that extensive damage was caused, but all personnel were accounted for.

Ras Laffan Industrial City is one of the world’s most important energy export centers and handles a large share of Qatar’s gas production and shipments.

Qatar later condemned the strike as a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to national security and regional stability.

Qatar also said it had expelled Iran’s military and security attachés, along with staff in both offices at the Iranian Embassy, and ordered them to leave within 24 hours. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the move followed repeated Iranian attacks against the country, including the strike on Ras Laffan.

Iranian authorities threatened to target oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, according to Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency. The threat came in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, the Iranian section of the world’s largest natural gas field shared with Qatar.