- Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars gas field without US knowledge, says Trump
- Iran retaliated by striking Qatar’s gas facilities, mistakenly believing Qatar was involved
- Trump states Israel will not attack South Pars again unless Iran targets Qatar first
US President Donald Trump has said Israel will not attack Iran's valuable South Pars gas field unless Tehran "unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar". The remarks came after Tehran escalated strikes on its Persian Gulf neighbours' energy facilities, hitting gas facilities in Qatar after Israel attacked Iran's South Pars offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) field that it shares with Doha.
The American commander-in-chief claimed that Israel acted "out of anger" over the war and acted out "violently" and that the "United States knew nothing about" the Israeli action against the Iranian Gas Field.
"Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar's LNG Gas facility," he added.
Trump pledged that, "NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar."
However, if Iran attacks Qatar, Trump said the US, "with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before."
"I do not want to authorise this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar's LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so," he added.
Iran's Attack On Qatar
Qatar Energy, Doha's state-owned oil and gas company, has said that Iranian missile attacks damaged more LNG sites in the energy-rich nation, “causing sizable fires and extensive further damage".
It said firefighters were working to halt the fires, and no one had been hurt so far. Qatar is a key source of natural gas for the world's energy markets. It already shut in its production earlier in the war, but extensive damage could delay Doha in getting its supplies to the market after the Iran war ends.
Israeli Attack On Iran
Israel attacked Iran's massive offshore South Pars natural gas field on Wednesday as the war escalated pressure on the region's economic lifeblood -- energy. In retaliation, Iran escalated strikes on its Persian Gulf neighbours' energy facilities, hitting gas facilities in Qatar. Doha, in response, ordered Iranian embassy officials to leave the country within 24 hours.
Tehran also struck the Habshan gas facility and Bab field in the United Arab Emirates, which the government there called a "dangerous escalation" in the Islamic Republic's war against Israel and the United States. Authorities in Abu Dhabi say the gas operations had been shut down after interceptions over the sites.
The attacks on Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are ratcheting up pressure on the Gulf Arab states, which have been defending against Iranian attacks since the war began on February 28 but haven't taken any offensive action against Iran as their military bases, civilian sites and energy operations have come under attack.
The price of oil surged another 5 per cent to over $108 a barrel on international markets as Iran continued to squeeze the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel - through which one-fifth of the world's oil travels. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, is now up close to 50 per cent since the start of the war.
As the Trump administration looks for ways to boost oil supplies, the Treasury Department eased sanctions on Venezuela on Wednesday, saying US companies will be allowed to do business with the country's state-owned oil and gas company.
