Amid Attacks on Energy Facilities Modi Phones Gulf Capitals but not Tehran; Damage to Qatari LNG Plant Bodes Ill For India; Modi Govt Muzzling Accounts on X Smacks of Paranoia
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Snapshot of the day
March 19, 2026
Anirudh S.K.
The ongoing war in West Asia has already crossed a red line – with direct strikes now targeting facilities linked to the production of fossil fuel energy. Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field – part of a larger field shared with Qatar – triggered a predictable retaliation: Iranian drones and missiles hit gas facilities in Qatar, as well as oil giant Aramco’s Samref refinery in Saudi Arabia. The fallout is immediate and severe as the gas field that South Pars is part of is the largest in the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded by phoning his Qatari counterpart to express solidarity with Doha and to “strongly condemn the attacks on the region’s energy infrastructure”; he also condemned the attacks on energy infrastructure in a call with Jordan’s king and spoke to the Omani sultan to condemn “the violation of Oman’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. As of publishing time, Modi in keeping with his public stance during the conflict has not condemned the Israeli attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field. Neither did the Indian external affairs ministry in its statement – at least not explicitly. It has named neither Tehran nor Tel Aviv, condemning the attacks on energy infrastructure “across the region”.
India’s dubious non-stance in Israel’s and the US’s illegal war against Iran was further pushed in the spotlight after the Israeli foreign minister went public over his conversations with Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar. Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar apparently “briefed” Jaishankar about the war. He spoke of Israel’s “special strategic partnership with India, the world’s largest democracy,” and how they “valued” it. Sa’ar said he briefed the Indian minister on developments in the Israeli operation against Iran. India has come under fire for pushing itself into a lose-lose situation, generating suspicion with its desire to throw itself firmly on the US-Israeli side, despite being very dependent, in material terms, with its energy needs and many workers in the region.
Iranian missile strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City have crippled nearly 17% of its LNG export capacity over the next three to five years, with QatarEnergy warning of force majeure on certain long-term contracts, reports Reuters. Saad al-Kaabi, the company’s CEO, said the attacks damaged two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one gas-to-liquids facility, knocking out 12.8 million tonnes of annual capacity. He estimated the revenue loss at $20 billion annually.
The attack on the facility will be a source of deep concern for India, half of whose LNG imports tend to come from Qatar, Rajeev Jayaswal notes. Petronet, GAIL and Gujarat Gas all have long-term supply agreements with Doha. While the earlier supply disruptions were caused by Iran’s retaliatory blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, here is an attack on a gas facility itself, which as noted above will take a while to repair, he writes. Not just LPG, LNG could be next. Speaking of LPG:
