India condemned the rising attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf region on Thursday, amid the escalating West Asia conflict. India’s statement follows Iran’s retaliatory attacks on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait, in response to Israel’s strike on the South Pars gas field. Smoke and flames billow from Iran’s South Pars gas field after an Israeli attack, viewed through the window of a moving vehicle (via REUTERS). India had earlier urged against targeting civilian infrastructure, such as energy facilities, throughout the region. The recent assaults on energy facilities in various locations throughout this region are thus profoundly alarming and merely exacerbate the instability in an already precarious global energy landscape. “Such attacks are unacceptable and must stop,” stated the official communiqué from the Ministry of External Affairs. Also Read | Why the assault on Qatar’s energy infrastructure in Ras Laffan spells trouble for India. The conflict in West Asia intensified severely after Israel conducted an airstrike on South Pars, Iran’s share of the world’s largest gas field. In response, Iran carried out retaliatory attacks throughout the Gulf region. Iran’s strikes followed its call for civilians and others to evacuate areas near the energy facilities. Reports indicate that Iranian airstrikes inflicted severe damage on the world’s largest gas plant in Qatar, struck a refinery in Saudi Arabia, prompted the UAE to close gas facilities, and ignited fires at two Kuwaiti refineries. Although Iran’s targeting of energy infrastructure isn’t a fresh escalation, the strikes’ ferocity has recently intensified. In response to the attacks on Gulf states, a coalition of Arab and Islamic nations released a firm joint statement on Thursday denouncing the latest missile and drone assaults. This came after a ministerial consultation in Riyadh on March 18, attended by foreign ministers from Qatar, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and the UAE.
