Critical energy infrastructure has been at the center of the war in the Middle East. US and Israeli strikes on Iranian energy facilities and Iran’s retaliation across the Gulf have demonstrated how energy assets have become deliberate targets in warfare.
Critical infrastructure lies at the heart of a functioning society. The German government says that its failure or disruption would result in long-lasting supply shortages and significant risks to public safety. While international humanitarian law prohibits attacks on infrastructure indispensable to civilian survival, the military often relies on the same systems.
The centrality of critical infrastructure for comprehensive defense presents an inherent dilemma: With infrastructure at the front line of conflict, the distinction between civil and military targets becomes increasingly blurred, with troubling effects. In practice, destruction of energy infrastructure leaves civilians carrying the primary consequences.
Why the energy sector is at the core of the attacks
Energy underpins modern globalized life. Attacking these systems is a way to increase leverage and pressure by extending the damage beyond military targets. The Israeli strike on the Iranian South Pars gas processing facility was intended to increase internal pressure by pushing Iranian citizens to rise against the regime. Meanwhile, Iran has focused on maximizing economic damage by closing the Straits of Hormuz and targeting energy assets such as Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility across the region.
The latter part is arguably more important for European long-term energy security. Repairing ports, refineries and processing plants to resume normal operations will take time and resources. Lower throughput is a major vulnerability for oil and gas production because wells rely on constant flow – shut-ins can permanently damage output. Iran has demonstrated the phenomenal success of strikes with waves of cheap drones that quickly saturate expensive air defense systems. This new normal, in which asymmetrical military innovation can cripple the global energy system, is deeply troubling if it inspires similar developments elsewhere.
Learning from the Middle East for comprehensive defense
For Europe and Germany, the conflict shows the urgency of protecting critical infrastructure, and especially energy systems, for our own comprehensive defense: Germany should push the EU to lead a structured Gulf-Ukraine-Europe dialogue on the protection of energy infrastructure. The Gulf is turning to Ukraine for its expertise on drone defense while Russia alienates itself from the Gulf by providing targeting support for Iran. Ukraine has demonstrated that it is at the cutting edge of drone production and jamming – especially in protecting critical civilian systems. While the Gulf is currently suffering a gap in protecting its infrastructure, Europe would also fail to do so in such a scenario. A Gulf-Ukraine-Europe dialogue could be a triple win: It could help the Gulf invest in their own infrastructure resilience, establish Gulf support for sustained defense of Ukraine against Russia, and enable Europe to increase resilience by learning from Ukraine.
At the German and EU levels, increased security standards of critical infrastructure remain essential. Germany’s delayed implementation of the EU Directive on the Resilience of Critical Entities and the NIS2 Directive on cyber security, and the strengthened drone defense in the Aviation Security Act are important steps. For effective protection, this requires consistent commitment to implementing these security standards in practice.
These attacks also underscore that Germany’s structural dependence on imported oil and gas remains a vulnerability. Most of the Gulf’s energy exports go to Asia, yet commodity and energy prices have soared across Europe. As fossil energy flows continue to show increased uncertainty, Germany must work to rationalize and reduce demand wherever possible.
The developments are an alert reminder that comprehensive defense needs to prepare for the resilience of critical infrastructure, especially energy systems, even under attack. An “Operation Plan Civil Defense” should put this very question on our own government’s agenda.
