(Corrected the number of countries meeting in Riyadh from 6 to 12 and changed the description in paragraph 18 from “Islamic” to “Muslim majority”)
Authors: Andrew Mills and Timor Azari
DOHA/RIYADH, March 19 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said an angry Israel had “lashed out” and attacked Iran’s main natural gas fields in a major escalation in the U.S.-Israeli war, but ruled out further such attacks unless Iran retaliates.
Wednesday’s attack on the giant South Pars gas field pushed up oil prices and prompted Iran to threaten attacks on oil and gas targets in the Gulf while launching missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The escalation adds to unprecedented disruptions in global energy supplies, raising the political stakes for Trump, who joined Israel in attacking Iran nearly four weeks ago.
Qatar’s state oil giant Qatar Energy reported that Iranian missiles struck the industrial city of Ras Laffan, which handles about a fifth of the world’s natural gas supplies, causing “severe damage.”
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh on Wednesday, as well as a drone that attempted to attack its eastern gas facilities.
On Thursday, Iran again targeted Qatar’s gas facilities and its missiles were also aimed at the Saudi capital.
Earlier on Thursday, Qatar Energy was hit by a missile attack that caused “massive fires” and severe damage to several of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
Trump said the United States had no prior knowledge of the Israeli attack, adding that Qatar had no involvement.
“In anger at what is happening in the Middle East, Israel launched a violent attack on a major facility in Iran’s South Pars gas field,” Trump posted on X on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, Iran was unaware of this or any relevant facts related to the South Pars attack and unjustly and unfairly attacked part of Qatar’s LNG facility.
“Israel will not launch another attack on the extremely important and valuable South Pars oil fields unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent country, in this case Qatar.
“In this scenario, with or without Israel’s help or consent, the United States of America will blow up the entire South Pars gas field on a massive scale with a force that Iran has never seen or witnessed.”
Previously, the Wall Street Journal claimed that Trump had approved Israel’s plan to attack Iran’s natural gas fields.
South Pars is the Iranian portion of the world’s largest natural gas deposit, which Iran shares with Qatar. Qatar is a close ally of the United States and home to the largest U.S. military base in the Gulf.
Since the conflict began, Tehran has targeted not only Israel but also U.S. diplomatic and military facilities in the Gulf and warned its neighbors against launching attacks on Iran.
Trump is considering sending thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East as the situation has not yet eased, according to a U.S. official and three people familiar with the matter.
The forces could be used to restore safe passage for tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of the world’s oil trade.
Islamist foreign minister condemns Iran attack
Foreign ministers from 12 Muslim-majority countries met in Riyadh to condemn Iran’s attacks on Gulf neighbors and called for an immediate halt.
The ministers said in a statement that Iranian attacks targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure such as oil facilities, airports and desalination plants were unjustified under any circumstances.
“Pressure from Iran will be politically and morally counterproductive, and of course we reserve the right to take military action if deemed necessary,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a news conference after a meeting with diplomats in Riyadh.
The interceptor was seen being launched from near a Riyadh hotel as ministers gathered for a consultation meeting on the Iran war.
The UAE shut down the Habshan gas facility after intercepting a missile launched by Iran, in what the UAE foreign ministry described as a “terrorist attack”.
The US-based Iranian human rights organization HRANA estimates that more than 3,000 people have been killed in Iran since the US-Israeli attacks began on February 28.
Lebanese authorities say 900 people have been killed and 800,000 have been forced to flee their homes.
Iranian attacks have killed people in Iraq and throughout the Gulf countries, with at least 13 U.S. service members killed in the war.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha and Timor Azari in Riyadh; Additional reporting by Reuters bureau; Writing by Jonathan Allen and Michael Perry; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)