Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of copying Vladimir Putin’s playbook by targeting Iranian gas fields, in actions that may constitute war crimes. The strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field, which provides at least 75% of the country’s gas and fuels 80% of its electricity, have drawn comparisons to Russia’s deliberate attacks on Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure.
Last December, the UK and 42 other countries condemned Russia for targeting civilian infrastructure, with the UK representative to the OSCE stating that such actions breach international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes. Now, Israel has carried out similar strikes on Iran, prompting UN Secretary-General António Guterres to say there are “reasonable grounds” to believe both Israel and Iran may have committed war crimes through attacks on oil and gas facilities.
Israel bombed South Pars on Wednesday, setting its tanks ablaze. Iran retaliated by hitting Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial city, the world’s largest LNG export hub. The escalation has alarmed even US President Donald Trump, who posted on Truth Social that he was not consulted and warned against further attacks. Trump’s concern appears driven by global energy prices, which surged 20% in Europe after the Iranian attack on Ras Laffan.
Trump’s post came close to apologising to Iran and admonishing Israel, stating that the US knew nothing about the attack and that Qatar was not involved. He warned that if Iran attacks the Qatari part of the gas field again, the US will “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field”. The US was clearly not consulted about Israel’s initial strike, and analysts note that the Trump administration has no clear definition of victory or plan for Iran.
