Trump denies he knew Israel was to attack Iran’s gas field after Iranian retaliation: Report

US President Donald Trump knew about Israel’s plan to strike Iran’s South Pars Gas Field but changed course and denied his prior knowledge after the Islamic Republic hit Qatar’s gas field in retaliation, according to an Axios reporter.

In a post on X on Thursday, Barak Ravid, citing senior American and Israeli officials, said that the United States was fully aware that Israel was set to strike Iran’s South Pars Gas Field on Wednesday, adding that Washington even approved the attack.

He further noted that Trump, however, denied his prior knowledge of Israel’s plan after the Islamic Republic hit Ras Laffan refinery in Qatar in retaliation.

“Contrary to Trump’s statements, senior Israeli and U.S. officials said that the United States had prior knowledge of the Israeli strike and even approved it in an attempt to pressure Iran. After the Iranians retaliated against Qatar’s gas fields, Trump is now changing course,” Ravid said.

His comments came shortly after Trump said on his Truth Social that Israel “out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East” launched the attack against Iran’s major gas facility, claiming that “The United States knew nothing about this particular attack.”

The American president also pledged – partly in all caps for emphasis – that “NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field.”

Earlier, Iran’s Oil Ministry said that four refining facilities in Asaluyeh, a Persian Gulf coastal town which is home to Iran’s gas processing installations known as South Pars Gas Field, had suffered damage as a result of US-Israeli air strikes.

Following the attack on South Pars Gas Field, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued an urgent evacuation order for people living near key energy-production facilities in three Persian Gulf Arab states, namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The IRGC’s note added that the rulers of the Persian Gulf Arab states had ignored Iran’s warnings, persisting in “blind subservience” and making decisions that do not reflect the will of their peoples.

“We have repeatedly warned your leaders against following this dangerous path and dragging their peoples into a major gamble with their fate,” the note said, warning, “Therefore, they bear full responsibility for all consequences that will result from this course.”

In a post on X Wednesday night, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, for his part, stressed that the US and Israel are frustrated with the Iranian people, because they have thwarted all the enemy’s plans.

By attacking Iranian infrastructure, the US and Israel are trying to conceal their defeats on the battlefield, he further said in his post.

However, the attacks on Iranian infrastructure “amount to suicide for them. The equation of an eye for an eye is in effect, and a new level of confrontation has begun,” Ghalibaf emphasized.

The escalation targeting energy infrastructure marks a significant widening of the conflict, with potential global economic ramifications. International oil prices surged following the South Pars attack, with Brent crude rising above $109 per barrel.

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