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A ballistic missile that evaded Qatar’s defences caused an enormous explosion at a gas refinery as Iran launches ‘full scale economic war’ across the Middle East.
People filmed huge explosions erupting in Ras Laffan Industrial City – the world’s biggest natural gas plant – in Qatar.
On X, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and said it marked a dangerous escalation.
The state-owned oil and gas company, QatarEnergy, said the hearth had caused ‘extensive’ damage.
Iran launched five ballistic missiles toward Qatar, the defence ministry said, and the country’s military intercepted all of them except the one which fell at Ras Laffan.
Qatar warned they’d not hesitate to reply to attacks on its security and sovereignty.
Other strikes rocked Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. The Saudi Civil Defense agency said the 4 were hurt when shrapnel fell on a residential area in Riyadh near an oil refinery, causing limited damage. It said they weren’t Saudi residents but didn’t provide their nationalities.
It got here after Iran issued an evacuation warning for several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.
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The Ministry of Defence said there have been no UK casualties and no damage to UK assets at Al Minhad Air Base, which hosts a everlasting RAF facility.
No close ally has come forward with immediate help. Britain is flat-out refusing to be drawn into the war. France says the fighting would need to die down first. Others are non-committal.
China, which is just not an ally but was also asked to assist, is ignoring Trump’s call.
‘This is just not Europe’s war. We didn’t start the war. We weren’t consulted,’ European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.
Still, Trump is feeling the harshest sting from the UK’s steadfast refusal to affix.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer cultivated ties with Trump and reached an early trade deal with the administration, but is now amongst allies who refuse to affix a regional war with no clear endgame.
The UK ‘was form of considered the Rolls-Royce of allies,’ Trump said, adding that he’d asked for British minesweeping ships.
‘I used to be not blissful with the UK,’ Trump said. ‘They needs to be involved enthusiastically. We’ve been protecting these countries for years.’
Starmer said Britain ‘is not going to be drawn into the broader war’ and that British troops require the backing of international law and ‘a correct thought-through plan’ — suggesting those weren’t in place.
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