Reuters Report on Iran's Precision Strikes | Energy Facilities in the Crosshairs

A Reuters investigative report, drawing on satellite imagery, videos and official statements, reveals damage to oil, gas, airport and energy transmission infrastructure in several Persian Gulf littoral states.

By examining satellite images, videos, official statements and talking to informed people, this research has examined the dimensions of attacks on oil, gas, airport infrastructure and energy transmission lines in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. According to the findings of Reuters, the attacks of Iran and its allied forces were not limited to military targets and also included vital economic and logistical facilities in the region. In some cases, these attacks have targeted equipment that plays an important role in transferring energy and maintaining the activity of large oil and gas facilities.

One of the important examples is the attack on the infrastructure of Fujairah port in the UAE; The port is located outside the Strait of Hormuz and is one of the important oil export routes in the region. According to Reuters, damage to these infrastructures has disrupted port activities.

Ras Lafan liquid natural gas facility in Qatar was also one of the other targets of the attacks. In this attack, cooling equipment called "cold boxes" were damaged; Equipment that is necessary to convert natural gas into liquid form.

The report also reports attacks on airports and damage to pumping stations on the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia. This pipeline is one of the alternative routes of oil transportation in the condition of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, and damage to its pumping stations can affect the oil transportation capacity.

Reuters analysis shows that targeting sensitive infrastructure has allowed Iran to exert significant pressure on the economy and logistics network of the countries in the region despite the military superiority of the United States.

The importance of these attacks is due to the fact that damage to a part of the infrastructure can have consequences beyond direct damage; From stopping the operation of a facility and reducing energy export capacity to increasing transportation costs and limiting alternative routes for oil transportation.

According to Reuters, the targeted attacks on key infrastructures show that assessing Iran's military power based solely on the amount of damage caused to the country's military equipment does not provide a complete picture of the war situation. Tehran and its allied forces have been able to target the economic and logistical vulnerable points of the other party by using missiles and drones. This report also points to the limited information published by some governments in the region about the extent of the damage. Reuters has tried to clarify the extent of the damage to the facility and its operational implications by reviewing the video evidence and available information.

Despite the extensive investigation of the damage caused to the infrastructure of the Persian Gulf countries, the Reuters report does not address the issue of how much the US has used the soil, airspace and military facilities located in these countries to attack Iran.

Some countries in the region host American forces and military bases, and the role of these bases in military operations is one of the important issues in assessing the dimensions of the war. In fact, examining Iran's attacks on the infrastructure of the countries in the region, without addressing the role of the American military presence in these countries and the possibility of using the facilities located there in operations against Iran, does not provide a complete picture of the military and political context of the conflict.