(AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike any more Iranian gas fields, seeking to distance himself from an attack by a key ally that has shaken world energy markets. Trump insisted on social media overnight that he “knew nothing” about Wednesday’s strike by Israel on the South Pars gas field in Iran, which retaliated to the attack by hitting Qatari energy sites.
Asked in the Oval Office whether he had talked to Netanyahu about attacking Iranian gas fields, Trump replied: “I did. I told him, don’t do that, and he won’t do that. You know, we’re independent. We get along great. It’s coordinated, but on occasion, he’ll do something, and if I don’t like it…and so we’re not doing that anymore.”
Trump’s comments come despite the fact that US sources said on Wednesday that Washington was aware of the attack, although it had not participated in it. Trump has previously said the United States is holding off from launching attacks on Iran’s energy facilities, as the nearly three-week-old war has already sent global oil prices spiking. At the same time, he also warned on his Truth Social network late Wednesday that the United States would “massively blow up” the South Pars field if Tehran did not stop attacking Qatar.
Iran has responded with defiance, saying it would have “zero restraint” if its energy infrastructure was hit again. Republican Trump has insisted that energy prices will drop swiftly when the conflict is over, amid growing fears they will hit the US economy ahead of crucial midterm elections in November. But markets remain jittery, with Trump offering little clarity about how long the joint US-Israeli operation launched on February 28 will go on for, or whether the two allies share the same goals.
Trump says the war is aimed at ensuring Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and destroying its missiles and navy, but has given little detail about what kind of Iran he wants after the war. Netanyahu has been far clearer in his calls for Iranians to overthrow the Islamic republic’s clerical rulers. An Israeli strike at the very start of the war killed Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
© 2024 AFP
