Trump Denies Prior Knowledge of Israeli Strike on Key Gas Field, Warns Iran Over Attacks on Qatar

US President Donald Trump said tonight (Thursday) that the US did not know in advance about yesterday's Israeli attack on the South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf. "Israel, out of anger at what is happening in the Middle East, acted violently and attacked the large gas field," the president wrote on the social network he owns, Truth Social. "The US knew nothing about this." The northern part of the gas field is located in Iranian territorial waters, and the southern part belongs to Qatar.
Before the US president's announcement, Qatar's Ministry of Defense said that Iran had attacked the industrial city of Ras Laffan, north of Doha, with ballistic missiles. Qatar Energy also said that several of its natural gas facilities had been extensively damaged by Iranian missiles. In his post, Trump added that Qatar was not involved "in any way, shape or form" in the Israeli attack, but added that "Iran did not know this" and attacked the country's facilities "unjustly."
The president continued: "Israel will not attack this particular gas field again, unless Iran decides to attack Qatar." In that case, he noted, "the United States, with or without Israel's consent or assistance, will blow up all of South Pars with a force and power that Iran will never "I saw it before." Trump explained that he did not want to order such a step, but emphasized that if Qatar's natural gas facilities were attacked again by Tehran, he would not hesitate to do so.
American sources quoted in the Wall Street Journal said that the US president did know in advance about the IDF attack on South Pars and supported it, but is not interested in further attacks on Iranian energy facilities. According to the sources, the president will consider additional attacks on Iranian energy facilities in accordance with Iran's conduct around the Strait of Hormuz. The South Pars natural gas field is considered the largest of its kind in the world, and oil facilities are also associated with it. The Persian news agency "Tasnim", affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, reported from the country's Ministry of Oil that some of the infrastructure in the field was damaged, and that no casualties were reported.
Qatar condemned the Israeli attack, and the country's Foreign Ministry spokesman said it was "a dangerous and irresponsible step that threatens the world's energy security." He called on "all parties to exercise restraint and act in accordance with international law," and stressed that Qatar owns the northern part of the facility. In addition to the Iranian attack on Qatar, Saudi Arabia announced that it had intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles launched yesterday at its capital, Riyadh, and that it had thwarted a drone attack on a gas facility in the east of the kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is considering sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, according to sources familiar with the matter and official US sources. According to them, Trump is considering the next steps his country will take in relation to the war with Iran, and the mobilization of additional forces may help him implement them. The sources estimated that the additional forces could be used, among other things, to assist in the safe passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the sources, securing the strait will require mainly air and naval forces, but the US may also be required to send troops to Iran's coastline. They added that the administration is also discussing sending forces to the Iranian island of Kharg, from which 90% of Iran's oil exports originate. One of the sources emphasized that this mission could be extremely dangerous; Tehran is capable of hitting the island with missiles and drones. The US military attacked the island last week, and Trump claimed that every military target there was "totally destroyed."