Amnesty International Warns Against Attacks on Energy Infrastructure in the Middle East

Last updated: 22 September 2026

On March 11, 2026, the website Amnesty International published a report urging all sides involved in the escalating Middle East conflict to stop carrying out unlawful attacks on energy infrastructure. The article focuses on recent strikes in Iran andacross several Gulf states, arguing that attacks on fuel depots, refineries, oil and gas facilities, and related infrastructure carry a high risk of severe civilian harm, environmental damage, and disruption to essential services such as electricity, heating, water supply, transport, and food distribution.

According to the report, the warning is directed at Israel, the United States, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Amnesty says that in recent days Israeli-US air strikes have hit multiple fuel storage and distribution facilities in Iran, while Iranianmilitary actions have affected fuel depots and oil and gas infrastructure in several Gulf countries. The organization argues that, even when a military justification is invoked, international humanitarian law requires all parties to take feasibleprecautions to minimize civilian harm and to avoid attacks whose expected civilian damage would be disproportionate to the anticipated military advantage.

A major part of the article centers on the danger posed by attacks on energy sites because these facilities often have consequences that extend far beyond the immediate point of impact. Amnesty says such strikes can trigger massive fires, releasetoxic substances into the air, contaminate surrounding areas, interrupt access to fuel and electricity, and create long-term public health risks for large populations. In its assessment, the foreseeable “knock-on” effects of these attacks areespecially important, because harm to civilians may continue long after the strike itself, including through pollution, damage to public utilities, and interruptions to economic life and essential services.

The report explains that, under international humanitarian law, an oil refinery or similar facility may only be attacked if it qualifies as a military objective. Amnesty summarizes that standard as requiring the site to make an effective contribution tomilitary action and for its destruction or damage to offer a definite military advantage in the circumstances at the time. Even then, the attacking side must still take all feasible precautions to reduce civilian harm and must consider whether the likelycollateral damage — including toxic releases and indirect effects on civilian health — would be excessive.

In the section dealing with Iran, the article describes the aftermath of strikes on several fuel depots, including sites in Shahran, Sohanak, and Kouhak in Tehran, as well as Shahr-e Rey in Tehran province and Fardis in Alborz province. Amnesty says video footage from March 7 showed huge flames, thick black smoke, and uncontrolled fires spreading into civilian areas. The report also cites eyewitness descriptions of what they called oil-tainted or black rainfall after the strikes, whileIranian authorities and the Red Crescent reportedly warned residents in Tehran to stay indoors because of the risk posed by toxic chemicals and possible acid rain.

The article notes that the Israeli military confirmed carrying out attacks on a number of fuel storage facilities in Tehran, saying they were used by the Iranian military to operate military infrastructure. Amnesty, however, emphasizes the possiblecivilian cost of such actions, particularly in a densely populated city. The organization says that health concerns linked to hazardous materials released into the air could expose millions of people to serious complications, including respiratoryillness and other long-term effects. It also reports that an informed source in Tehran said residential buildings near the Shahran depots were damaged, leaving some people homeless.

The report provides additional details about the strike in Fardis. It says that on March 8, the Political Deputy Provincial Governor of Alborz province announced that the attack on the oil depot there had killed at least six people and injured 21 others, including nearby residents. Amnesty also notes that, according to the president of Alborz University of Medical Sciences on March 9, a nearby dialysis center was destroyed in the resulting fire. The organization uses these details tounderline that the effects of attacking such sites can extend to civilians who are not directly involved in the conflict, as well as to nearby medical and public-service infrastructure.

The article then turns to attacks affecting Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Amnesty says that since February 28, multiple incidents involving energy infrastructure have been reported across the Gulf. It cites statements by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said Iranian forces were targeting American bases, installations, and assets located in neighboring Gulf countries, and by a senior parliamentary figure who suggested that regional calm would remain impossible aslong as US bases existed in the area. Amnesty presents these remarks as part of the broader context for Iranian attacks or attempted attacks affecting Gulf energy and fuel facilities.

The report says officials in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait stated that Iranian drones and missiles had directly targeted oil and gas installations in Gulf states or that debris from intercepted attacks had affected such facilities. In Qatar, Amnesty notes that the Ministry of Defence said on March 2 that Iranian drones targeted energy facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, the country’s main liquefied natural gas export hub, though no casualties were reported. The articleadds that, according to Reuters and Bloomberg as cited by Amnesty, QatarEnergy suspended LNG production and declared force majeure after the attack.

In Saudi Arabia, the report says the Ministry of Defence announced on March 7 that 21 drones heading toward Aramco’s Shaybah field were intercepted and destroyed. It also notes an earlier incident on March 2, when two drones attempting totarget the Ras Tanura oil refinery were reportedly intercepted, but falling debris caused a fire inside the facility. In Bahrain, Amnesty says a missile attack on March 5 caused a fire in one of the refinery units of state-owned Bapco Energies, whichthen declared force majeure on oil shipments.

The article lists additional cases elsewhere in the region. In Kuwait, a spokesperson said drones targeted fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport on March 7, and the official news agency later reported that drone debris caused a fire in a fueltank at Al Subiya power plant on March 9. In Oman, state media reported that two drones struck the commercial port in Duqm on March 1, injuring one foreign worker, while another drone strike on March 2 hit an oil tanker off Muscat, killing oneIndian crew member. In the UAE, Amnesty says fires were reported at Musaffah fuel tank terminalon March 2, in an oil industry zone in Fujairah on March 3, and at Ruwais Industrial Complex in Abu Dhabi on March 10 following a drone attack.

Amnesty also links these attacks to wider humanitarian and economic consequences. The organization says commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has come close to a standstill, and cites a March 10 warning from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that the decline in shipping was already affecting access to energy, food, and fertilizer in the region and beyond. The article argues that attacks on fuel supply and distribution networks can create food insecuritybecause those systems are crucial to transport, industrial activity, and supply chains.

In its background section, the report says Iranian officials have stated that at least 1,255 people have been killed in Iran since February 28, when US-Israeli attacks began. It also says at least 17 people have been killed in Gulf states since Iran’sattacks there started, including victims in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Amnesty adds that 11 of those 17 were foreign nationals, while authorities in Lebanon reported at least 570 deaths from Israeli attacks and mediareports indicated at least 12 deaths in Israel.

Conclusion

The Amnesty International report presents recent attacks on energy infrastructure as a major humanitarian and legal concern because the effects can spread far beyond the immediate target and endanger large civilian populations. It suggests thatthe core issue is not only whether such sites have military relevance, but whether the foreseeable civilian and environmental consequences make these attacks unlawful. In a broader context, the article highlights how regional conflict isincreasingly affecting essential infrastructure on which daily life, public health, and economic stability depend.