US President Donald Trump has threatened to 'massively blow up' the world's largest gasfield, Iran's South Pars, if Tehran continues to attack Qatari energy facilities. The threat came after Israeli strikes on the Iranian site prompted Iranian retaliation on Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure.
Israel's decision to target the South Pars gasfield on Wednesday marked a major escalation in the conflict, raising fears of significant disruption to global energy supplies. Iran responded with fresh attacks across the region, including on Qatari LNG facilities, which infuriated the US president.
Oil and European natural gas prices rose sharply, with Brent crude up 6% at $114 a barrel and gas prices jumping 23%. Asian stock markets came under pressure, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 3.4%. The Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and gas shipments, remains largely closed.
Trump claimed the US 'knew nothing' of the Israeli attack on South Pars, but US media reported that the president approved of it to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Authorities in Abu Dhabi shut down operations at the Habshan gas facility and Bab field due to Iranian attacks, calling them a 'dangerous escalation'.
QatarEnergy reported 'extensive damage' and 'sizeable fires' at the Ras Laffan LNG hub after Iranian strikes. The Qatari interior ministry later said all fires had been contained. Trump warned that if Iran retaliates further, the US will 'massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field'.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, urging protection of energy supplies. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported three Palestinian women killed in an Iranian missile attack in the occupied West Bank, the first deadly Iranian strike there.
