Trump says he told Netanyahu not to repeat Iranian gas field attack
Rami Eyyub and Humeyra Pamuk
JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to repeat Israel’s attack on a major Iranian gas field and that the two countries were coordinating their actions.
In a social media post on Wednesday night, Trump said Washington “knew nothing about this particular attack,” even though three Israeli officials told Reuters the attack was coordinated with the United States.
The attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field marked the biggest escalation in the US-Israeli war against Iran, prompting an airstrike on Iranian energy infrastructure in Qatar and across the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Trump did not say whether he had prior knowledge of or approved the attack, nor did he say when he spoke with Netanyahu.
“I told him don’t do this and he said don’t do that,” Trump said.
Trump said, “We did not argue, we act independently, but we get along very well. We act in a coordinated manner.” “But occasionally he’ll do something. And if I don’t like it. That’s why we don’t do it anymore.”
Israel was not surprised by Trump’s comments on social media, three Israeli officials said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
They described the dynamic as similar to the one that emerged after Israel struck Iranian fuel depots a few weeks ago. Following these attacks, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth said, “in this particular case, these were not our attacks.”
The White House declined to comment beyond Trump’s post when asked about the information in the statements of three Israeli officials. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
GULF COUNTRIES WANT A STATEMENT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
Since Israel’s attack on South Pars, Iranian attacks have caused major damage to the world’s largest gas facility in Qatar, targeted a refinery in Saudi Arabia, and forced the United Arab Emirates to close its gas facilities.
A regional source familiar with the matter said that after Iran’s attacks, Gulf Arab countries asked for an explanation from the Trump administration and one country contacted the US Central Command.
The source said the Pentagon’s Middle East command said there was no advance information about the Israeli attack on that country. The person spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to name the country involved.
The source said that this country later contacted Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff, and Witkoff said that although the attack was not a joint US-Israeli operation, Washington was informed about it in advance.
Israel has yet to publicly accept responsibility for the attack.
The United States and Israel have repeatedly tried to emphasize their close coordination in joint airstrikes against Iran, but officials on both sides have acknowledged that their goals are not the same.
On Thursday, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a House Intelligence Committee hearing that Israel is focused on “disabling Iran’s leadership,” while the United States is focused on destroying Iran’s ballistic missile program and navy.
(Reporting by Jerusalem Bureau and Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Editing by Alison Williams, Colleen Jenkins, Timothy Heritage and Diane Craft)
