Report: Qatar Tried Secret Deal With Iran to Shield Gas Field, but Tehran Chose War

Qatar tried at the start of the war to reach a secret understanding with Iran to keep the Ras Laffan natural gas complex out of the fighting, according to intelligence sources in the Middle East and the West cited by The Washington Post on Friday. Under the reported proposal, Tehran would refrain from attacking the facility, while Qatar would consider unilaterally halting gas production, a move that could have driven up global energy prices and increased pressure on the United States and Israel to end the war quickly.

The plan was aimed at protecting Ras Laffan, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas production hub. But in mid-March, Iran fired missiles at Qatar and struck the complex, which supplies nearly one-fifth of the world’s gas. The attack damaged the facility and put major international contracts at risk, including deals with customers such as China.

The strike also undermined Qatar’s mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran. According to the sources, the Iranian attack derailed the secret contacts that were meant to keep Ras Laffan outside the zone of combat.