Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ all of Iran’s South Pars gasfield if Tehran strikes Qatar | US-Israel war on Iran
Donald Trump has threatened to “massively blow up” the world’s largest gas field after Israeli strikes on Iranian territory prompted Tehran to step up attacks on energy facilities in the Middle East.
Israel’s decision to target the South Pars gas field on Wednesday marked a major escalation of the war, raising fears of a serious disruption to international energy supplies.
Iran immediately retaliated with new attacks across the region, including on Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, infuriating the US president.
Trump claimed on social media Wednesday night that he “knew nothing” about the Israeli attack on South Pars. US media had previously reported that the US was aware of the attack. Wall StreetJournal reportedThe president approved it to pressure Tehran to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, he said, citing unnamed US officials.
Officials in Abu Dhabi said Iran was forced to shut down its operations at the Habshan gas facility and Bab field due to attacks in what it described as a “dangerous escalation” of the war.
State-run QatarEnergy giant said Ras Laffan in Qatar, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas hub, suffered “major damage” after Iranian attacks. Earlier on Thursday, QatarEnergy reported “major fires” and serious damage to several LNG facilities in the hub. Qatar’s interior ministry later said all fires were under control.
The attack on South Pars was the first targeted attack on Iran’s fossil fuel production since the United States and Israel began the conflict almost three weeks ago.
Qatar, which shares its gas field with Iran, “had nothing to do with Iran” [the attack]”He had no idea this would happen,” Trump said, adding that Israel would not attack the Qatar gas field again if Iran did not attack the Qatar gas facilities again.
If Tehran chooses to retaliate, Trump said: “The United States will massively blow up the entire South Pars Gas Field, with or without Israeli assistance or consent, with a force and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.”
Trump’s efforts to reduce attacks on energy infrastructure by threatening to destroy South Pars have failed to reassure global markets as concerns grow about the economic impact of the conflict.
Oil and European natural gas prices rose sharply, while Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 3.9% to $111.51 per barrel. Major Asian bourses came under pressure, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 2.5%.
Saudi Arabia was also the target of Iranian ballistic missiles on Wednesday. The foreign minister said trust in Tehran was shattered. “This pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally, and we absolutely reserve the right to take military action if deemed necessary,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said at a press conference.
A Qatari foreign ministry spokesman called Israel’s attack on South Pars “dangerous” and “irresponsible” and called on all parties not to target energy facilities. The UAE foreign ministry also described the move as a “dangerous escalation” and warned: “Targeting energy infrastructure poses a direct threat to global energy security.”
Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies and seaborne gas tankers pass, remains almost completely closed. Trump’s efforts to create a multinational naval force to reopen the important waterway have yet to bear fruit.
A fire broke out after a shell hit a ship near the strait, the UK’s Merchant Marine Operations agency said, citing a report published late Wednesday. The ship was off the coast of the UAE.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump and Qatar emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani following the attack on gas facilities on Wednesday. Calling for a moratorium on attacks targeting civilian infrastructure, Macron said: “Civilian populations and their basic needs, as well as the security of energy resources, must be protected from military tension.”
In another day of violence in the Middle East, the Palestinian Red Crescent said three Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack on the occupied West Bank late Wednesday; this was the first fatal Iranian attack there and the first to kill Palestinians since the start of the war.
Meanwhile, the European Union called on Israel to “cease its activities” in Lebanon, where French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot will visit on Thursday.
Lebanon was drawn into the crisis earlier this month when Hezbollah fighters fired rockets at Israel. Israel retaliated for the attacks, which killed at least 968 people and displaced more than a million people, according to Lebanese officials.
It’s been more than a week since Trump first said the war could end “very soon.” With no end in sight, some companies are bracing for at least another month of significant disruption.
Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific on Thursday suspended flights to and from Dubi and Riyah until the end of April, in a move attributed to the “evolving situation in the Middle East”.
