Trump Says U.S. Had No Advance Knowledge of Israeli Strike on Iran’s ‘Extremely Valuable’ South Pars Gas Field

Trump Says U.S. Had No Advance Knowledge of Israeli Strike on Iran’s ‘Extremely Valuable’ South Pars Gas Field

U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington had no prior knowledge of an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, while asserting that no further attacks on the site would take place.

In a post on March 18, Trump said Israel had carried out a strike targeting South Pars Gas Field—the world’s largest natural gas field located offshore in Iran’s southern Bushehr province—but added that only a small portion of the facility was hit.

According to Trump, the United States was not informed in advance of the operation. He also stressed that Qatar “was not involved in any way” and had no foreknowledge of the strike.

U.S. President Donald Trump (Photo: White House).

The U.S. president said that due to a lack of clarity about the incident and its details, Iran responded with what he described as an “unreasonable and unjust” attack on part of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure.

Trump said Israel would not conduct any further strikes on South Pars unless Iran continues attacking Qatar, which he described as “completely innocent” in the situation.

“Israel will not carry out any additional attacks related to this extremely important and valuable South Pars gas field unless Iran continues to strike Qatar—a country entirely uninvolved in this matter,” Trump wrote.

He warned that if Iran persists in targeting Qatar, the United States would “destroy the entire South Pars gas field” with a level of force Iran “has never seen before.”

At the same time, Trump said he does not wish to authorize such a level of violence due to the long-term consequences it could have for Iran’s future.

“However, if Qatar’s LNG facilities continue to be attacked, I will not hesitate to act,” he added.

Iran has not publicly commented on Trump’s statements.

Earlier, Iranian state media reported that natural gas facilities linked to South Pars had come under attack. The Times of Israel also cited Israeli officials as saying the country’s air force conducted strikes on the gas infrastructure on March 18.

Shortly afterward, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to target oil and gas infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, raising concerns about potential disruptions to regional energy supplies.

Later on March 18 (local time), Qatari authorities reported a fire at the Ras Laffan Industrial City gas facility following what was described as an Iranian ballistic missile attack. Qatar’s Interior Ministry later said the fire had been brought under control.