Saad al-Kaabi Says He Repeatedly Cautioned U.S. Officials and Industry Leaders About Risks of Strikes on Iran.
As Qatar assesses the damage from an Iranian strike that crippled part of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas complex, the head of QatarEnergy says he had long cautioned that attacks on Iranian energy sites would invite retaliation across the Gulf.
Saad al-Kaabi, who serves as both QatarEnergy’s chief executive and the country’s energy minister, told Reuters he repeatedly warned oil and gas executives — including partners such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips — as well as U.S. officials about the dangers of escalation.
“I was always warning,” al-Kaabi said, describing near-daily reminders that energy facilities must be kept off-limits to avoid catastrophic fallout.
The U.S. Department of Energy referred questions to the White House, which said the administration anticipated short-term disruptions during operations in Iran.
The warnings proved prescient. Three weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, missile and drone attacks have damaged tankers and refineries across the Gulf. The most significant impact has been at Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, the backbone of global LNG supply.
Al-Kaabi said the strike knocked out 17 percent of Qatar’s export capacity and could disrupt deliveries to Europe and Asia for up to five years. Two of the complex’s 14 liquefaction trains were critically damaged. “The cold boxes are gone,” he said, referring to the massive cooling units that chill gas into liquid form for export.
The consequences extend beyond current exports. Qatar’s multibillion-dollar North Field expansion — designed to increase liquefaction capacity from 77 million to 126 million tons per year by 2027 — has been halted. Around 10,000 workers were evacuated within 24 hours of the attack, and operations remain suspended. Al-Kaabi expects delays of months, possibly more than a year.
The strike followed an Israeli attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field, which Tehran shares with Qatar. Al-Kaabi said he had no prior warning of that escalation. “President Trump said he didn’t know. So do you think we would know?” he said.
Beyond LNG, the economic ripple effects are spreading across the Gulf. Tourism has stalled, airlines are disrupted and trade flows through regional ports have slowed sharply. “This has taken the whole region back 10 to 20 years,” al-Kaabi said.
For global energy markets, the episode underscores a new reality: even limited strikes on critical infrastructure can reverberate for years, reshaping supply chains and strategic calculations long after the missiles stop.
