Trump says US ‘knew nothing’ of Israeli strike on South Pars gas field, warns against attacks on Qatar

US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that the United States “knew nothing” about a strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, as he warned of massive retaliation if Iran targets Qatar again following a sharp escalation in attacks on key energy infrastructure in the Gulf.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Israel had carried out the strike on the South Pars field “out of anger” over developments in the Middle East, but insisted that Washington had no prior knowledge and that Qatar “was in no way” involved.

"Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility," Trump said.

The South Pars field, the world’s largest natural gas reserve shared by Iran and Qatar, is a critical source of energy for Iran, which periodically struggles to meet domestic electricity demand.

“NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL” on the South Pars field, Trump wrote, unless Iran retaliates against Qatar.

He asserted that if Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities are attacked again, the United States will “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.”

The comments came as tensions surged after a strike on an Iranian production facility at South Pars on Wednesday, widely attributed in Israeli media to Israel.

Iran responded by threatening retaliation against energy infrastructure across the region, naming sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as “direct and legitimate targets”.

Loud explosions were reported in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, hours later.

Qatar said it, too, had come under attack.

State-owned QatarEnergy said several LNG facilities were hit in missile strikes early Thursday, causing “sizeable fires and extensive further damage.”

The attacks followed an earlier strike on Ras Laffan Industrial City that damaged the Pearl gas-to-liquids facility.

Emergency teams contained the fires and no casualties were reported, the company said.

Qatar, a close US ally that hosts the largest American air base in the region, blamed Israel for the escalation and called the strike on South Pars “dangerous and irresponsible,” warning it could put global energy security at risk.

The United Arab Emirates also said the attack posed a threat to regional stability and global energy markets.

The United States and Israel had previously avoided striking Iran’s energy sector in the Gulf to prevent retaliatory attacks on neighbouring producers and export hubs.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for restraint, saying he had spoken with Qatar’s emir and Trump.

He urged an immediate halt to attacks on civilian infrastructure, including energy and water facilities.

“Civilian populations and their essential needs, as well as the security of energy supplies, must be protected from military escalation,” Macron said in a post on X.