The US president has cautioned Tehran against further strikes on Qatari LNG facilities
The US will ”massively blow up” Iran’s South Pars gas field if Tehran continues strikes on Qatari energy facilities, President Donald Trump has warned. South Pars – shared with Qatar, where it is known as the North Field – is the world’s largest natural gas field.
Iran earlier struck Qatar’s main LNG hub at Ras Laffan after Israel targeted facilities linked to the South Pars field. Doha said the attack caused ”extensive damage” and expelled Iranian security and military attaches.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said Israel had struck ”out of anger” and claimed no further Israeli attacks would target the South Pars field – but warned that the US would destroy ”the entirety” of the field if Tehran targets Qatar again.
Foreign ministers from 12 Arab and Muslim countries have meanwhile called on Iran to ”immediately” halt attacks on civilian, energy, and transport infrastructure.
France has urged a moratorium on strikes targeting energy facilities in the region. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said it was ”sad” that French calls for de-escalation came only after Tehran struck Qatar, lamenting that the West had still not condemned the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Tehran has since sent letters to the UN protesting Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE for allowing US forces to operate from their territory.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev described the exchange of strikes on gas infrastructure as a ”tipping point” in the escalating conflict.
Here are the latest developments:
Araghchi has condemned reports that the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in war funding from Congress, calling it the ”tip of the iceberg” of a ”trillion-dollar ‘Israel First tax’” on Americans.
European gas prices have jumped to levels last seen during the 2022 energy crisis, with Dutch TTF futures rising nearly 30% in a day after Iran’s strike on Ras Laffan. Qatar is Europe’s second-largest LNG supplier.
Oil prices continued to surge due to Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy infrastructure, with Brent crude climbing above $112 per barrel and US WTI nearing $100.
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