Qatar
World's largest LNG exporter and host of CENTCOM's Al Udeid Air Base; struck by Iran despite sharing gas reserves across the North Field.
Last refreshed: 29 March 2026 · Appears in 3 active topics
Qatar kept lines open to Tehran for decades — so why is Iran now bombing it?
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- Why did Iran attack Qatar if they share a gas field?
- Iran struck Ras Laffan to punish Qatar for hosting the US military at Al Udeid Air Base. The shared North Field gas reserves did not provide the protection Doha had assumed.Source: editorial
- What is Ras Laffan and why does it matter?
- Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar processes roughly 20 per cent of the world's LNG. Iranian strikes have damaged the facility, disrupting global gas supply chains.Source: editorial
- Is Al Udeid Air Base still operational?
- Al Udeid hosts around 10,000 US personnel and serves as CENTCOM's forward headquarters. Iranian strikes on Qatari territory have brought the war to within kilometres of the base.Source: editorial
- How much of the world's LNG comes from Qatar?
- Qatar is the world's largest LNG exporter, processing roughly 20 per cent of global supply through Ras Laffan. Damage to the facility affects long-term contracts with European and Asian buyers.Source: editorial
Background
A peninsula state of 3 million people in the Persian Gulf, roughly 85 per cent of them foreign workers, Qatar holds the world's third-largest proven gas reserves shared with Iran across the North Field. Al Udeid Air Base hosts approximately 10,000 US personnel and serves as CENTCOM's forward headquarters, making Qatar simultaneously Iran's gas partner and America's military landlord.
Qatar's decades-long balancing act between Iran and the United States collapsed when Iranian strikes hit Ras Laffan, the hub processing 20 per cent of global LNG . Doha expelled Iranian military attaches and a second IRGC attack caused further damage in a four-nation blitz . QatarEnergy's CEO confirmed losses that will outlast the war .
Ghalibaf has threatened irreversible destruction of Gulf energy infrastructure , and separate threats target desalination plants on which Qatar depends entirely for fresh water. Having survived a 3.5-year Saudi Arabia-led blockade from 2017 to 2021, Doha now faces a threat it cannot diplomacy its way out of.
