Qatar said on Thursday (19 March) that Iranian strikes had caused “extensive” damage to Ras Laffan, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, in a major escalation of the ongoing Middle East conflict.
The attack followed an Israeli strike on Wednesday (18 March) on Iran’s South Pars gas field, part of the world’s largest natural gas reservoir shared with Qatar. Energy markets reacted sharply, with oil prices rising by around five percent and European gas prices surging by up to 35 percent.
State-owned QatarEnergy reported that two waves of Iranian strikes triggered fires and caused significant damage to multiple LNG facilities at Ras Laffan.
United States President Donald Trump warned Iran to halt further attacks, threatening to “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field” if strikes on Qatar continue. He also said Washington had no prior knowledge of the Israeli attack on South Pars.
Regional tensions have intensified, with Qatar condemning the Israeli strike as “dangerous and irresponsible”, and the United Arab Emirates calling attacks on energy infrastructure a “dangerous escalation”. Qatar has since ordered Iranian military and security personnel attached to diplomatic missions to leave the country.
Kuwait also reported drone attacks on oil refineries on Thursday (19 March) and Saudi Arabia intercepted drones targeting its energy infrastructure.
Donald Trump on Truth Social:
"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. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. 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. 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. NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar - In which instance 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. 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, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"
Source: commonspace.eu with Agence France-Presse
