Oil infrastructure came under Iranian attack in Gulf countries on Tuesday, with Qatar's state energy firm halting some production of key materials after strikes on two facilities.Drones meanwhile struck a fuel tank in Oman and in the UAE an oil storage zone was hit by falling debris from an intercepted drone, as Iran apparently widens its targets beyond US assets.
Qatar's state-run QatarEnergy said it would halt some downstream production of substances including urea, polymers, methanol and aluminium after Iran attacked two gas processing plants.
The announcement prompted an immediate two percent rise in the price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange.
Iran on Monday broadened its targets in its war with the US and Israel to include infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which are American allies.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday that Iranian missiles had targeted Doha airport but were downed by the military.
In Oman, several drones targeted the port of Duqm on its eastern coast on Tuesday, according to a security source quoted by the official Oman News Agency.
"The resulting damage was contained without any human casualties," the report said.
The attack was the second on the port in three days, with the sultanate hit despite acting as a mediator between Iran and the United States just days prior to the war.
On Sunday, a worker was injured when two drones struck the same port. One drone hit accommodation for workers, while debris from the other landed near fuel tanks, the Oman News Agency said.
They were the first attacks on the sultanate since war broke out.
Oman also shot down two further drones on Tuesday, while another crashed near its Salalah port, state media said.
In the UAE, falling debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire at an oil storage and trading zone in the emirate of Fujairah, authorities said.
"No injuries were reported, the fire was brought under control and normal operations in the area have resumed," the Fujairah Media Office said.
The UAE says it has been targeted with more than 800 drones and nearly 200 missiles since the war erupted.
QatarEnergy, one of the world's biggest liquefied natural gas exporters, had already on Monday suspended LNG production due to drone strikes on two of its sites.
The halt sent prices on European markets skyrocketing.
Analysts for ING bank said Tuesday's suspension of aluminium production would place pressure on the market.
"Tensions in the Middle East are bringing back to the forefront the risks weighing on aluminium supply, given that around 8 percent of global production is concentrated in the Gulf and is heavily dependent on maritime transport through the Strait of Hormuz," they said.
A general in Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened on Monday to "burn any ship" seeking to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas shipments.
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