Middle East NE P166 Pre-RV 1000000 Rials —1 million Rials (100 Tomans) 2023 UNC—Blue—Mosque—Refinery

Iran – 1,000,000 One Million Iranian Rials

Upon revaluation, will be equal to 100 tomans

Front - Shrine in the Holy City of Qom

Back - South Pars natural gas refinery, damaged by Israeli bombing in March 2026

Decimated by Israel, Escalating the War: the World's Largest Natural Gas Field

The South Pars gas field is the world’s largest natural gas field, lying offshore in the Persian Gulf and shared between this country and Qatar, where it is known as the North Dome. 

March 2026 Israeli Attack that Escalated the War

In March 2026, Netanyahu's Israel struck the South Pars gas field, directly hitting the pipelines and processing units that account for a large share of this country's gas output. The strike shut down refineries and cut roughly 12% of national production, sending energy markets into shock.

This country answered fast. It fired missiles and drones at Qatar, hitting parts of the Ras Laffan industrial zone—the core of Qatar’s Liquid Natural Gas system—damaging facilities, sparking fires, and forcing emergency shutdowns while air defenses intercepted much of the barrage. Qatar was livid, expelling military officials from their neighbor and pressing Washington for answers as a close U.S. partner suddenly found itself under direct fire as retribution for Israeli aggression presumed to be supported by the U.S.

Trump then claimed that he had had no prior knowledge of Israel’s strike, distancing himself even as the region absorbed the fallout. The sequence is stark:

• A decisive Israeli blow
• A rapid retaliation against a Gulf nation
• Allies pulled into the War whether they chose it or not—raising the harder question of whether such moves widen conflict in ways no one controls

Anyway, about South Pars

Discovered in 1990, South Pars contains roughly half of the total reserves of the combined field, making it the backbone of the country's gas production and a pillar of its domestic energy supply.

The field is developed in multiple phases, each involving offshore platforms, subsea wells, and onshore processing plants that separate gas, condensate, and sulfur. Gas from South Pars fuels electricity generation, industry, and household consumption, while condensates are exported or refined. Development has been repeatedly slowed by sanctions, which limited access to foreign capital and technology, creating a long-standing imbalance as Qatar brought its side online faster and more fully.

Strategically, South Pars is less about export leverage than energy security: it underwrites this country's internal economy and cushions it from oil price volatility. In geopolitical terms, it is a quiet reminder that beneath political borders lie shared geological systems—where timing, technology, and access can matter as much as ownership.

You might not expect a Mosque named for a woman!

Fatima Masumeh (c. 790–816) was a revered figure of early Shiite history, remembered for her piety, learning, and spiritual authority. She was the daughter of the seventh Shiite Imam, Musa al-Kazim, and the sister of the eighth Imam, Ali al-Ridha. While traveling to join her brother, she fell ill and died in the holy city that begins with Q, where her burial site became one of the most important pilgrimage centers in the Shiite world. Known honorifically as al-Maʿsūmeh (“the Pure”), she came to symbolize learned devotion and moral integrity, and her shrine helped transform the Q city into a major center of religious scholarship and authority.