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Thursday, March 19, 2026

Oil price rises to over $100 per barrel as Iran bombs Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia

The aftershock of the airstrikes jolted the global energy market, pushing oil prices above $100 and raising fresh concern among world leaders.

• March 19, 2026
Oil rig
Oil rig [Credit: Wikipedia]

Oil price climbed to $110 per barrel after Iran fired a salvo of missiles targeting oil fields and major energy sites of its Persian Gulf neighbours, including Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Qatar and the UAE, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on its largest gas facility on Wednesday.

Incensed by Israeli airstrikes on South Pars, a critical gas field co-owned by Iran and Qatar, Tehran vowed to make other countries in the Middle East pay, a revenge mission that immediately reverberated across the world, throwing the global oil market into a frenzy that raised prices above $110.

Tehran devised a plot to cripple critical energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia  and the UAE, two nations that successfully repelled the attack, while a Qatari city holding the natural gas refinery suffered “extensive damages”.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted four ballistic missiles headed towards Riyadh, while the UAE’s Abu Dhabi fought off airstrikes that might have damaged the Habshan gas and the Bab oil fields had the missiles not been timely intercepted.

The aftershock of the airstrikes jolted the global energy market, pushing oil prices above $100 and raising fresh concern among world leaders.

Qatar declared Iranian diplomats persona non grata and issued a 24-hour expulsion notice directing them to exit the country after an Iranian missile struck Ras Laffan, a city that was home to Qatar’s liquefied natural gas  refinery.

“If the Iranian side continues this hostile approach, the State of Qatar will take additional measures to ensure the protection of its sovereignty, security, and national interests,” the Qatari foreign affairs ministry stated.

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