Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel would pause offensive strikes on Iran’s offshore gas field, South Pars, at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump, even as Iran intensified attacks on energy facilities across the Gulf region. The move comes amid escalating tensions and rising global energy prices, with Brent crude briefly surging above $119 a barrel.
Iran’s retaliatory strikes targeted oil and natural gas facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait, setting facilities ablaze and causing extensive damage. Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility sustained significant damage, reducing exports by approximately 17 percent and potentially resulting in $20 billion in annual lost revenue, with repairs expected to take up to five years. A Saudi refinery on the Red Sea was also struck by an Iranian drone.
The attacks prompted an urgent closed-door meeting of the United Nations Security Council, where Gulf countries called for an end to Iranian aggression. Bahrain’s UN Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei, representing the Arab group on the Security Council, emphasized the need for Iran to cease its attacks.
Israel has asserted that Iran’s military capabilities have been severely degraded since the start of the conflict on February 28, claiming its air defenses are “rendered useless” and its navy has been largely destroyed. Netanyahu stated that Iran is no longer capable of enriching uranium or producing ballistic missiles, though he offered no supporting evidence. Despite these claims, Iran, now under the leadership of the son of its former supreme leader, remains capable of launching missile and drone attacks against its neighbors.
The conflict has also seen direct clashes between U.S. And Iranian forces. U.S. Central Command reported that U.S. Warplanes are attacking deeper into Iranian territory, targeting weapons storage facilities. An F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing after a combat mission over Iran, with the pilot reported to be in stable condition. Iran’s state TV, citing a Revolutionary Guard statement, claimed its air defense system had hit an F-35, a claim not independently verified.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war, while Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon have displaced over one million people and resulted in over 1,000 deaths, according to Lebanese authorities. Fifteen people have been killed in Israel by Iranian missile fire, with an additional four deaths reported in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S. Military members have also been killed.
Trump, in a social media post, warned that if Iran continued to strike Qatar, the U.S. Would “massively blow up the entirety” of the South Pars gas field. He reiterated that no U.S. Ground troops would be deployed to Iran.
The attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure have raised concerns about global fuel supplies, already strained by Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil transportation. Efforts to bypass the strait, including increased oil shipments via the Red Sea, have also been targeted, with a Saudi refinery hit by an Iranian drone.
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