US President Donald Trump said early Thursday morning that the attack on Iran's South Pars gas field was carried out by Israel, and the US and Qatar were not involved in it.
The South Pars gas field is the world’s largest natural gas reserve and is jointly operated by Iran and Qatar.
"Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility...in Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"The United States knew nothing about this particular attack," Trump wrote, "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."
The post came after the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Trump does not want any further strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after Israel's attack on the South Pars gas field.
Trump, who the Journal claimed knew about the Israeli strike on South Pars in advance, supported it as a message to Tehran over its blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, and could again be open to targeting more Iranian energy facilities depending on Tehran's future actions in the waterway, the report said, citing US officials.
Iranian gas, oil infrastructure at Iran’s South Pars and Asaluyeh hit in Israeli air strike
Facilities linked to Iran’s gas and oil industry in South Pars and Asaluyeh were targeted in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday, a source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.
An Israeli official told the Post that the attack was coordinated with the United States, adding that the target was Iran’s largest gas facility in Bushehr.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Tasnim News Agency corroborated that petrochemical facilities in South Pars were targeted, stating that the extent of damage was not yet clear.
Trump and his administration opposed the previous strikes on oil facilities due to the images of fires and the resulting surge in prices. However, in the case of gas, this appears to be less of a concern, the Israeli official explained.
Qatar questioned US knowledge of strike
After the first Iranian missile strike, Qatari officials contacted Witkoff, US Central Command (CENTCOM), and other senior officials, asking if the US had prior knowledge of the Israeli strike, according to a report by Axios.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.