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Iran used sophisticated, maneuverable missiles capable of evading the American-made Patriot air defense systems in its attacks on QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, the Financial Times reported on March 23, citing an official briefed on the attack.
Four Iranian missiles that targeted Ras Laffan on March 18 were intercepted, but a fifth struck the facility, according to the report.
The strike was carried out in response to an Israeli Israeli attack that targeted the South Pars field in the city of Asaluyeh in southern Iran earlier in the day. The attack on the gas field — the largest in Iran — was reportedly carried out with the approval of the United States.
The Ras Laffan Industrial City — located to the northeast of the Qatari capital of Doha — accounts for roughly a fifth of the global supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and is home to the world’s largest LNG export facility, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant, LNG storage, condensate splitters, and an oil refinery.
QatarEnergy said right after the attack that several of its LNG facilities were struck, causing “sizable fires and extensive further damage.”
QatarEnergy’s director and state minister for energy later revealed that the Iranian missile strike knocked out 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, causing an estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia.
Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters that two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids plants were damaged in the unprecedented strikes. The repairs will sideline 12.8 million tons per year of LNG for three to five years, he said.
“I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be – Qatar and the region – in such an attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of Ramadan, attacking us in this way,” Kaabi said.
The Financial Times’s report led to speculations that Iran used its latest Fattah-1 hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile in the attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City.
The Fattah-1 can travel at 13 times the speed of sound and is reported to have a range of 1,400 kilometers. The missile has a solid fuel first stage, with a second stage incorporating the warhead, aerodynamic controls and a small liquid-propellant motor with a moveable nozzle for thrust vector control that resembles a maneuverable reentry vehicle.
It is also possible that Iran used the Fattah-2 which replaces the second stage with a liquid-fueled hypersonic glide vehicle designed to reach speeds up to 15 times the speed of sound, while maintaining the same range. This version is not known to be in service, however.
Hypersonic missiles like the Fattah-1 and 2 reach their top speed at low altitudes in the atmosphere, which makes them extremely difficult to track and intercept.
While Iran may never actually reveal what type of missiles it used, there is not doubt that the strike on the Ras Laffan Industrial City demonstrated the Islamic Republic’s sophisticated missile capabilities.
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“i never in my wildest dreams would have thought that qatar would be – qatar and the region – in such an attack, i always thought we could act as us and israel’s bitches, let our soil crawl with american soldiers and weapons, and let them climb out of our asses to attack iran, while iran does not retaliate” qatarenergy’s director and state minister for energy said.
disillusion gets exposed with reality. depopulation strategies always leave enemies with long memories
very well put
sleep with the devil get the horn cry baby cry
if you sell your soul to the jooz you have to live with the consequences.
iran has over 90 million people available. a fool would believe that it can not control the the straight of hormuz for decades. and has the same ability control of all the regions energy. the globalist epstein skill and bones has no plans or method to recover from its hubris. the road to doom widens to the bottom
this is likely just a warning of what can be
iran is not escalating it is responding. thats all folks !
iran’s missiles are a setback for the zionist’s new world order. their american military lacks the ability to counter iran’s strategy while america’s population begins to awaken. this may keep the usa from being caught as deeply in the social and economic transition as western europe has.
we inferior americunt nazi aspire to swallow ukie jizz but must accept somali sodomy in minnesota
jizz tastes good in amerika
trump is getting cold feet. but any ceasefire is not up to him but up to netanyahu or the irgc.