(AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran is being “decimated” and it is unclear who is in charge, as Tehran sent jitters through global markets by turning its sights on Gulf oil and gas facilities. Nearly three weeks into the Middle East war launched by Israel and the United States, Netanyahu stated that the Islamic republic no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, renewed his call for a truce between Israel and Iran ally Hezbollah and the opening of negotiations. With no ceasefire on the horizon, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon and on Beirut’s southern suburbs has surpassed 1,000. In Brussels, the European Union, following a meeting of EU leaders, called for a moratorium on strikes against energy and water facilities and vowed to prevent “uncontrolled migratory movements” towards the 27-nation bloc.
Netanyahu, speaking at a press conference, praised his cooperation with US President Donald Trump and stated, “We are winning and Iran is being decimated.” He suggested, “This war is ending a lot faster than people think,” without providing a specific timeframe. His comments came after Washington indicated there was no deadline to end the war launched against Iran on February 28.
In a notable assertion, Netanyahu mentioned that he was “not sure who’s running Iran right now.” He referred to Mojtaba, the replacement ayatollah and son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war. “We’re seeing cracks, and we’re trying to propagate them as fast as we can, not only in the top command,” he said, adding, “We’re seeing cracks in the field.”
While Israel and the United States conveyed confidence in their military efforts, energy markets were impacted by Iranian attacks on the world’s largest liquefied natural gas plant in Qatar and refineries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Oil markets had already been unsettled by Iran’s chokehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Benchmark Brent prices surged six percent to $119 a barrel before declining to $110, while European gas prices increased nearly a third after Iranian missiles struck Qatar’s extensive Ras Laffan natural gas complex in retaliation for Israel’s raid on the South Pars gas field.
The latest attack on Ras Laffan resulted in “extensive damage,” with QatarEnergy estimating potential losses at $20 billion a year and repair times extending up to five years. Iran also targeted other areas in the region; a drone crashed into the Samref refinery in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, prompting the Saudi government to reserve its “right to take military actions” in retaliation. Additionally, drone attacks in Kuwait sparked fires at the Mina Abdullah and Mina Al-Ahmadi refineries, which have a combined capacity of 800,000 barrels per day. An oil refinery in the port of Haifa, Israel, was also hit on Thursday, with media outlets showing images of black smoke rising from the complex.
In the United States, Trump indicated he was unaware in advance of Israel’s strike on South Pars, which supplies about 70 percent of Iran’s domestic energy needs. He stated he had advised Netanyahu against further attacks on Iranian gas fields. “We get along great. It’s coordinated, but on occasion, he’ll do something” that Washington does not approve of, Trump noted. Meanwhile, Netanyahu emphasized that Israel acted independently regarding the strike, rejecting any implication that he had drawn Trump into the conflict and asserting that Trump did not require persuasion.
Trump further warned that the United States would “blow up” South Pars if Iran continued its attacks on Qatar, although he clarified there were no current plans to deploy ground troops into Iran. In a defiant response, Iran’s military vowed the “complete destruction” of Gulf energy infrastructure if Israeli attacks persisted. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated there would be “ZERO restraint” if Iran’s infrastructure was affected again.
Amid growing concerns over the economic repercussions of the ongoing conflict, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands announced they would “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” though they provided few specifics. Rome and Berlin later clarified that any military action would only occur if there was a ceasefire in place. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “reckless escalation” of attacks and urged for “direct talks” between American and Iranian officials. Britain warned that “attacks on critical infrastructure risked pushing the region further into crisis.”
India and China also expressed increased concern regarding oil supplies transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remarked that while there is no set timeframe for concluding the war, “we’re very much on track,” adding that Trump would determine when to conclude fighting. “It will be at the president’s choosing, ultimately, where we say, ‘Hey, we’ve achieved what we need to,'” he said.
burs-cl/dw – AFP teams in Jerusalem, Doha, Tehran, Beirut, and Washington.
© 2024 AFP
