Trump orders halt to further Israel strikes on Iran’s gas hub but threatens massive retaliation if Iran targets Qatar again
Donald Trump threatened to ‘massively blow up the entirety’ of Iran’s South Pars gas field after Israel ‘lashed out in anger’ amid escalating attacks in the Middle East.
Trump’s devastating threat came after Israel attacked the Iranian gas field and Tehran retaliated by bombing a major natural gas facility in Qatar, while striking other targets in Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
‘Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran,’ Trump wrote.
‘The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen.’
His remarks came as overseas markets were in turmoil early Wednesday, with shares in Asia dropping as oil prices spiked at more than $110 a barrel.
An Iranian official likened that developments to a ‘full-scale economic war.’
As tensions escalated, Trump appeared to draw a red line for Israeli attacks on the South Pars field before lobbing the massive threat against Iran.
‘NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field,’ Trump said.
However, if Iran decided to attack Qatar again Trump said all bets were off and he would unleash devastating force on the Persian Gulf country.
Donald Trump pledged Israel would make no more attacks on Iran’s major South Pars gas field, but if Iran attacked Qatar again, the U.S. would retaliate and ‘massively blow up the entirety’ of the field
Trump made his threat on social media Wednesday night as the war roiled global energy markets and Iranian missiles hit Qatar. Pictured: South Pars gas field after it was attacked in 2025
‘The United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, 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,’ he said.
‘I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran.’
However, Trump bluntly stated, ‘I will not hesitate to do so.’
Oil prices shot up five per cent Wednesday as markets responded to Iran saying that energy sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar ‘have become direct and legitimate targets’.
‘The pendulum of war has swung to a full-scale economic war,’ Eskandar Pasalar, an Iranian regional governor, proclaimed.
Saudi Arabia said any trust with Tehran has been shattered after Riyadh was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles.
‘This pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally and certainly we reserve the right to take military actions if deemed necessary,’ Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said after top diplomats from the region met in Riyadh.
He said that Iran ‘did not know’ why the attack happened and went ahead and attacked a Qatari LNG gas facility (pictured) in response
Although Trump claimed the US ‘knew nothing’ about the Israeli attack on South Pars, the Associated Press reported that the US was informed about Israel’s plans to strike the gas field.
Axios reported that both US and Israeli officials said that the attack was ‘coordinated with and approved by the White House.’
Some 80 percent of all power generated in Iran comes from natural gas, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
US stocks also sagged Wednesday due to a report that said inflation was primed to worsen even before the war with Iran sent oil and gas prices spiking.
In addition, comments from the head of the Federal Reserve, led investors to expect there’s less chance of getting the lower interest rates that they love.
In turn, that sent Treasury yields higher, lending still more strength to the US dollar, which has gained against other major currencies since the war began.
Oil prices have soared because the war has disrupted the Persian Gulf’s energy industry.
The attack on the Pars gas field is the first reported strike on Iranian energy infrastructure since the war began at the end of last month.
Reports cite both US and Israeli officials said that the attack was ‘coordinated with and approved by the White House’
The South Pars Gas-Condensate field, the world’s largest natural gas field, has been shared with Qatar in the past
Iran, which accuses Gulf states of allowing US forces to conduct attacks from their territories, lashed out with a fresh salvo of missiles, including one which struck an airbase housing British and Australian troops in the UAE, while others hit the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.
It will only add to fears over an energy supply crunch which is already being described as the biggest ever – surpassing the 1970s oil crisis.
The strikes come amid reports the US is heading into a new phase of the war on Iran.
The Pentagon has requested $200billion for the war in Iran as President Trump considers deploying thousands of more troops to the region.
Multiple sources told The Washington Post that Pentagon has asked the White House to ask for the funding from Congress.
It was unclear if the White House would honor that request. Some in the Trump administration believe there will be resistance to the measure in Congress.
Democrats remain largely against the war efforts and Kentucky libertarian Rand Paul typically votes against military funding, meaning the 60 votes to avoid a filibuster may not be there.
The Pentagon has requested $200billion for the war in Iran as President Trump considers deploying thousands of more troops to the region
The Trump administration is considering sending thousands of troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East at the Strait of Hormuz
A spokesperson for the Pentagon declined to comment when reached by The Daily Mail.
The Trump administration is considering sending thousands of troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, a US official and three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The deployments could help provide Trump with additional options as he weighs expanding US operations, with the Iran war well into its third week.
Those options include securing safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a mission that would be accomplished primarily through air and naval forces, the sources said.
But securing the Strait could also mean deploying US troops to Iran’s shoreline, said four sources, including two US officials.
The Trump administration has also discussed options to send ground forces to Iran’s Kharg Island, the hub for 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports, three people familiar with the matter and three US officials said.
One of the officials said such an operation would be very risky. Iran has the ability to reach the island with missiles and drones.
The United States carried out strikes against military targets on the island on March 13 and Trump has threatened to also strike its critical oil infrastructure.
However, given its vital role in Iran’s economy, controlling the island would likely be viewed as a better option than destroying it, military experts say.
Explosions erupt following strikes at Tehran Oil Refinery in Tehran
Any use of US ground troops – even for a limited mission – could pose significant political risks for Trump, given low support among the American public for the Iran campaign and Trump’s own campaign promises to avoid entangling the US in new Middle East conflicts.
Trump administration officials have also discussed the possibility of deploying US forces to secure Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium, one of the people familiar with the matter said.
The sources did not believe a deployment of ground forces anywhere in Iran was imminent but declined to discuss specifics of US operational planning.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: ‘There has been no decision to send ground troops at this time, but President Trump wisely keeps all options at his disposal.
‘The president is focused on achieving all of the defined objectives of Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran’s ballistic missile capacity, annihilate their navy, ensure their terrorist proxies cannot destabilize the region, and guarantee that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.’
The discussions come as the US military continues to attack Iran’s navy, its missile and drone stockpiles and its defense industry.
The US has carried out more than 7,800 strikes since launching the war on February 28 and damaged or destroyed more than 120 Iranian vessels so far, according to a factsheet released on Wednesday by the US Central Command.
Trump has said his goals go beyond degrading Iran’s military capabilities and could include securing safe passage through the Strait and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Ground forces could help broaden his options to address those goals, but carry significant risk.
Even without any direct conflict in Iran, 13 US troops have been killed so far in the war and about 200 have been wounded, although the vast majority of the injuries have been minor, the US military says.
For years, Trump has railed against his predecessors for getting involved in conflicts and has vowed to keep the United States out of foreign wars.
But more recently he has refused to rule out the possibility of ‘boots on the ground’ in Iran.
A senior White House official told Reuters that Trump has various options for acquiring Iran’s nuclear material but has not decided how to proceed.
‘Certainly there are ways in which it could be acquired,’ the official said, adding: ‘He hasn’t made a decision yet.’
