Israel says Iran’s intelligence chief Esmail Khatib was eliminated overnight as the pace of top leadership killings accelerates.
Iran says upstream oil and gas assets are under attack for the first time since the war began and readies retaliatory action against oil/gas assets in the Gulf area, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Qatar isn’t happy with Israel (and the US?). Doha is surely trying to minimize blowback from Iran: both countries share the same gasfield, which the Iranians call “South Pars” and the Qataris call “North Field” https://t.co/d3Poxf2zuC
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) March 18, 2026
They did not hit production. They hit a petrochemical plant where natural gas is used to create precursor for munitions, rocket fuel and plastics for drone bodies.
— David O’Donnell (@brecko) March 18, 2026
The semi-official Fars news agency reports that Iran’s energy infrastructure “will not go unanswered, and Iran’s response will target enemy infrastructure previously thought to be safe.”
“These centers have become direct and legitimate targets and will be targeted in the coming hours,”
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency FARS reports.
- Ras Laffan refinery, Qatar
- Samref oil refinery, Saudi Arabia
- Al Hosn gasfield, UAE
- Jubail petchem plant, Saudi Arabia
- Mesaieed petchem plant, Qatar
Iran has been hitting oil and gas production by their neighbors for days.
Iran is still in control of the Strait.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera about new rules that should be imposed on the critical waterway.
“We need to design new arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz and the way ships pass through it in the future after the war so that peaceful navigation through this waterway can be permanently maintained under clear regulations with consideration for Iran’s interests and the interests of the region,” Araghchi said.
He said, “It should guarantee that safe passage through the strait takes place under specific conditions,” adding that conditions should “ensure peacefulness. We do not want to witness another war in the region and we do not want to see the strait closed again.”
As for nuclear, the Iranian Foreign Minister says there is no change in nuclear posture and vows that Tehran is not pursuing an atomic bomb.
The US continues to hit missile site.
Hours ago, U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the… pic.twitter.com/hgCSFH0cqO
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 17, 2026
BREAKING : Big success for the U.S. & Israeli Forces. An Iranian underground missile storage facility was successfully targeted & destroyed using bunker buster bombs near the Strait of Hormuz. Over 200 Khorramshahr ballistic missiles were stored there and now became dust. pic.twitter.com/xrA1KVDo6n
— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) March 18, 2026
