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US President Donald Trump has claimed Washington had no prior knowledge of Israel’s strike on the South Pars gasfield in the Arabian Gulf and vowed there would be no more Israeli attacks on the major energy hub.
The statement, distancing the US from the major attack on the shared Iranian section of the gasfield, came after Tehran’s retaliatory missile strikes on Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar’s and attempted attacks on other gas infrastructure across the Gulf.
The assault on the South Pars, which was met with overwhelming regional and global condemnation, was the first known attack on natural gas facilities in Iran since the war began almost three weeks ago.
“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 gasfield in Iran,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The United States knew nothing about this particular attack.”
The US President the Israelis would be carrying out no more attacks “pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar – in which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars gasfield”.
“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 [liquefied natural gas] is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so.”
However, Axios reported that, according to US and Israeli officials, Mr Trump's remarks were inaccurate. “While Qatar didn't know about the Israeli strike in advance, Trump did”, the officials reportedly said.
Axios added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Trump had co-ordinated the strike, with aim of deterring Iran from continuing to disrupt oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar, which shares the field with Iran, calls it the North Dome. It is the world’s largest gas reserve, with about 1,800 trillion cubic feet of usable gas. Qatar Energy produces about 18.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day from its side of the site, enabling the country to supply about a fifth of global LNG demand. Iran’s output is more constrained and largely directed towards its domestic consumption.
Tehran vowed to retaliate immediately after the attack, before striking Ras Laffan Industrial City, as well as attempted attacks on energy infrastructure in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday, Doha said it had contained the fires at South Pars. The Ministry of Interior said civil defence teams extinguished the flames without any injuries, and cooling and security operations were continuing. It added that explosives specialists from the Internal Security Force were handling hazardous materials at the site.
Earlier, the Foreign Ministry expelled Iran’s military and security diplomats, along with their staff, ordering them to leave Qatar within 24 hours.
Doha said the strike on Ras Laffan – one of the world’s most important gas processing and export centres – caused significant damage and constituted a “dangerous escalation” and a direct threat to national and regional security. It warned that further hostile actions would be met with additional measures and reaffirmed its right to respond under international law.
Analysts warned that the exchange of strikes raises the risk of wider disruption to regional energy flows, including supplies from Iran to Iraq and Turkey, as well as potential knock-on effects for global markets.
