Israel’s bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field has sent shockwaves through global energy markets.

The South Pars gas field is part of the world’s largest gas field, known as North Dome, shared by Iran and Qatar.

Until now, nations on both sides of the conflict have confined their attacks to civilian infrastructure, where the damage is unlikely to affect critical services.

But Israel’s attack on South Pars, and Iran’s retaliatory strike on Qatari gas infrastructure, represents a major escalation in the Middle East conflict.

So why is energy infrastructure being targeted? And how might this affect global energy prices?

Remind me, who’s attacking who?

Israel has been vocal about its campaign to destroy critical infrastructure, such as electricity and water services, as a way to cripple Iran, both economically and militarily.

Earlier this week, Israeli forces bombed the South Pars gas field, a crucial part of Iran’s domestic energy sector. South Pars accounts for about 70% of the country’s total gas production and 90% of its domestic energy use. It’s also a key processing site for Iranian gas exports, which mainly go to Turkey and Iraq.

The bombing of the South Pars gas field is the first time either side of the US-Iran conflict has attacked energy infrastructure used to produce fossil fuels.

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