Iran-Israel War News: Witnessing Iran’s counterattack, US President Donald Trump appears to have been rattled.
Consequently, Trump is now stating that Israel will refrain from launching further attacks on Iran’s massive ‘South Pars’ gas field.
However, he issued a stern warning: if Tehran launches any further attacks on Qatar’s ‘Liquefied Natural Gas’ (LNG) infrastructure, the US could “completely destroy” that facility.
First, let’s look at what Donald Trump said following Iran’s attack. Speaking today—Thursday—Trump stated, “Israel attacked South Pars in a fit of anger. The United States prior had no knowledge of this. Qatar, too, was completely uninvolved in the matter.” He further added, “Iran was unaware of the full facts, which is why it attacked Qatar.” However, Trump also issued a warning to Iran, declaring that if the LNG plant in Qatar were to be attacked again, the US would obliterate the entire South Pars field.
Read Trump’s Statement:
“Israel will now launch no further attacks on the South Pars region—unless Iran wrongly attacks Qatar, which is entirely innocent in this affair. Should such an event occur, the United States—even without Israel’s assistance or consent—will destroy the South Pars gas field with a force and power the likes of which Iran has never witnessed before.”
Why is Trump saying Israel will no longer attack?
The question now arises: why, exactly, has the US restrained Israel from launching further attacks? The fundamental reason is that South Pars is the world’s largest gas field, shared jointly between Qatar and Iran. Previously, Israel had attacked only the portion belonging to Iran. Had a second attack occurred, the Qatari portion would also have been destroyed. Furthermore, in retaliation, Iran has already reduced Qatar’s largest gas plant to rubble. In this scenario, the United States fears that if Israel launches another attack, Iran will retaliate in kind. Such a response would likely result in attacks on the oil and gas facilities of Qatar—a key U.S. ally—and other partner nations. This would erode the confidence of America’s friends and allies in its ability to protect them. After all, Qatar is a close friend of the U.S. and also happens to be the world’s largest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). It is for this very reason that Trump himself stated that Qatar is innocent in this matter; it has no involvement whatsoever, and any attack against it would be unjustifiable.
Donald Trump in a Tight Spot
Thus, Donald Trump now finds himself in a precarious position. On one hand, he is compelled to restrain Israel from attacking Iran’s gas facilities; on the other, he must simultaneously issue stern warnings to Iran. Should Iran launch another attack, the U.S. would be forced to obliterate the entire gas field—a move that would inevitably exacerbate the global energy crisis. The attack on Qatar’s facilities has already disrupted LNG supplies, and prices are poised to skyrocket. Trump’s current predicament underscores the fact that the conflict with Iran is rapidly spiraling out of his control. Meanwhile, a source familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that the U.S. was aware in advance of Israel’s plans to attack the South Pars gas field, though it did not participate in the actual operation.
The Aftermath of Iranian Action Against Qatar
Donald Trump’s statement comes at a time when Qatar has reported that Iranian missile strikes have inflicted severe damage upon several of its LNG facilities. Qatar Energy confirmed that the affected sites were engulfed in massive fires, which emergency response teams are currently working to extinguish. There have been no reports of casualties.
It is worth noting that Qatar is one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas and plays a pivotal role in the global energy market. Iran launched the missile attack on Qatar’s gas facilities on Wednesday, an act that Qatar subsequently condemned.
