Ex-Israel Envoy Challenges Trump’s Claim of No Prior Knowledge of South Pars Strike as Iran Hits Qatar Gas Hub
US President Donald Trump said his administration was not involved in an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars Gas Field, while warning of a forceful response if Tehran continues targeting Qatar’s energy infrastructure.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He urged Israel to halt such operations unless Iran escalates further against Qatar. President Trump added that if Iran “unwisely” attacks Qatar, 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.”
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Dan Shapiro, the former US ambassador to Israel, disputed President Trump’s assertion that Washington had no prior knowledge of the Israeli strike, saying coordination with US Central Command (CENTCOM) would have been required for an operation of that scale.
“Trump can say whatever he wants. But there is zero, meaning zero, chance the IDF carries out a strike in that location without giving CENTCOM the full picture. Trump knew (and approved),” Shapiro wrote on his X account.
Qatar said early Thursday that Iranian ballistic missile strikes caused extensive damage at the Ras Laffan industrial area, which houses a major liquefied natural gas hub. The strikes were described as retaliation for the Israeli attack on the South Pars gas field.
Following the exchange, oil prices climbed to $114 a barrel as concerns grew over the war’s impact on global energy supplies.
