Iran and its allies carried out at least 135 drone and missile attacks on at least 84 infrastructure sites across seven Gulf states — a pinpoint campaign that, according to a Reuters investigation published October 15, 2026, "picked apart" the region's energy lifelines and blunted American war plans. The strikes hit oil ports, LNG terminals, pipelines, power plants and airports with what experts called extraordinary precision, reshaping the economics of a war Washington expected to win quickly.
What the investigation found
Reuters' investigation, based on satellite imagery, videos, official statements and sector interviews, found that the attacks began after the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran started on February 28, 2026, and spanned Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. The method was striking: pinpoint strikes on highly sensitive, sometimes meter-wide equipment — targets even inside buildings that could not be identified from satellite imagery. Fourteen experts told Reuters it was "highly unlikely" such precise damage to critical equipment across dozens of sites could be the result of random debris.
The named damage is extensive. The Port of Fujairah in the UAE — the main Gulf oil port outside the Strait of Hormuz — was struck at least 19 times, with two pipeline systems linking oil terminals to berths damaged; after mid-March attacks, oil loading fell to 440,000 barrels a day, less than half the 2025 average, per Kpler data. After a May 4 attack, refined petroleum exports were nearly halted for about a month, and three 250,000-barrel oil tanks caught fire. At Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG facility, two "cold boxes" housing main liquefaction equipment were hit in two strikes; QatarEnergy chief Saad al-Kaabi said full restoration could take three to five years — putting about 20% of global LNG flows at risk. On Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline in the Hejaz region, one pumping station was incinerated and two damaged, cutting another bypass around Iran's blockade of Hormuz. At the EGA Al Taweelah aluminum smelter in the UAE, all 1,262 smelting cells were halted, with normal output not expected until 2027. Airports in at least four countries were hit, including one Saudi airport struck four days in a single week in October.
Why it mattered: "denial leverage"
Reuters' thesis is that the campaign "helps explain how the Islamic Republic has held its own against the more powerful US military." Analysts describe an asymmetric strategy of "denial leverage": Iran complicates American access and operational tempo without defeating US forces conventionally, while cheap drones and missiles force expensive repairs and air-defense spending. Michael Knights of Horizon Engage, quoted by Reuters, said Iran is "seeking to raise the cost of Washington's strategy by targeting its regional partners" — hammering Saudi Arabia as the weak point to pressure Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to push President Trump to ease the US blockade on Iran.
The economic lever is real. Saudi oil output fell below 7 million barrels a day for most of the war's first six months, down from more than 10 million — a shortfall worth more than $50 billion at current prices — while Brent crude hovered near $106 in mid-October. Former US Marine Corps air-strike coordinator Ryan Stephens, reviewing Reuters' findings, said Iran's strikes showed "precision, target selection expertise, and patience."
The responses — and the denials
Iran's military command Khatam Al-Anbiya had warned, after a US-Israeli attack on an Iranian gas field, that it would "severely strike the source of the aggression" and consider targeting the fuel, energy and gas infrastructure of countries from which attacks were launched; Iranian state TV published a "legitimate targets" list naming oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
Gulf governments, for their part, largely downplayed the damage: Reuters counted at least 34 official statements attributing damage to "falling debris of intercepted missiles and drones," with attacks announced "without detail." Qatar's foreign ministry condemned attacks on Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait as a "blatant violation of sovereignty," reserving "full right to respond." US Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said CENTCOM had been "entirely clear in communicating the threats posed by Iran at both regional and global levels," while asserting that the US and partners control the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect April 8 and President Trump declared the war over on July 10 — but fighting, including in the Strait of Hormuz, continued. CNN separately reported the US military weighed using the GBU-43/B "mother of all bombs" against Iranian energy and nuclear sites if Trump orders renewed operations, a claim Reuters said it could not verify.
Takeaway: Whether viewed as legitimate asymmetric retaliation or sustained aggression against civilian infrastructure, the campaign's facts are now documented: 135 strikes, 84 sites, seven countries — and a regional energy map redrawn by precision weapons. The question now is whether the damage forces a genuine settlement, or simply sets the terms of the next round.
Watch: Firstpost Live: Iran Picks Apart Gulf — 135 Strikes, 84 Sites, 7 Countries — a Firstpost Live segment walking through the Reuters investigation, from Fujairah to Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG hub, the "falling debris" claims versus satellite evidence, and the disruption to oil output and global energy flows.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0