West Asia conflict and political developments dominate headlines

PTI, March 19, 2026, Kolkata/Dubai : Iran intensified its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf on Thursday, raising the stakes in a war that is sending shockwaves through the global economy.

The strikes, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian gas field, sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran's Arab neighbours directly into the conflict.

Tehran's targeting of energy production further stressed global supplies already under pressure because of Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported.

Underscoring the danger to ships in the region, a vessel was set ablaze off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and another damaged off Qatar.

But efforts to bypass the strait were also under pressure.

An Iranian drone hit a Saudi refinery on the Red Sea, which the country had been hoping to use as an alternative exit route.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked to as high as USD 118 a barrel, up more than 60 per cent since Israel and the United States started the war on February 28 with strikes on Iran.

The European benchmark for natural gas prices rose 17 per cent on Thursday and has doubled in the past month.

Ahead of a European Union summit overshadowed by the conflict's impact on energy prices, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned what he called a "reckless" escalation and urged a truce and negotiations as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan comes to an end.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE denounced the Iranian attacks.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called them a "dangerous escalation."

But Iran showed no signs of backing down.

Saudi Arabia said its SAMREF refinery in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu was hit, and that it intercepted six drones in Riyadh and its Eastern Province.

Saudi Arabia had begun pumping large volumes of oil west towards the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

The Saudi Defence Ministry and Shell said a damage assessment was underway at the facility.

Qatar, a key source of natural gas for world markets, said firefighters put out a blaze at the Ras Laffan LNG facility after it was hit by Iranian missiles.

Production had already been halted there after earlier attacks.

The state-owned QatarEnergy said the fire had caused "extensive" damage.