Strait of Hormuz tensions escalate as Iran targets regional energy infrastructure

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 shock waves through the global economy. The strikes, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on 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. Efforts to bypass the Strait of Hormuz 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.

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Brent crude oil, the international standard, briefly surged above $119 a barrel, up more than 60% since Israel and the US started the war. The European benchmark for natural gas prices also rose sharply and has roughly doubled in the past month.

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

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Qatar, a key source of natural gas for world markets, said extensive damage was caused by Iranian missiles hitting the Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility, where production had already been halted after earlier attacks. Damage to the facility could delay Qatar's ability to get supplies to the market even after the war ends.

In Israel, more than a half-dozen waves of Iranian attacks targeting large parts of the country sent millions of people to shelters. The strikes caused damage to buildings but no significant casualties were reported.

Israeli media showed images of black smoke rising from an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa; Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said the refinery damage was minor.