Tehran unleashes intense attacks throughout the Gulf; Qatar’s gas production is severely damaged; US F-35 damaged by Iranian fire
U.S. sailors watch as an F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 31, approaches the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford. Photo: AFP
DOHA/WASHINGTON:
Iranian attacks on the world’s largest LNG plant in Qatar and refineries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sent shock waves through energy markets on Thursday, when the United States said there was no deadline for ending the war in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump said he had told Israel not to repeat its attacks on Iranian natural gas infrastructure.
Additionally, a U.S. F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the Middle East after being hit by what is believed to have been Iranian fire, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said the fifth-generation stealth aircraft was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing. Hawkins said the plane landed safely and the incident is under investigation.
“The plane landed safely and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. “This incident is under investigation.”
The incident would be the first time Iran has attacked a US aircraft in the war that began in late February. Both the United States and Israel are flying F-35s in the conflict; The plane costs more than 100 million dollars.
Amid growing fears about the economic damage of the war, US President Donald Trump said there would be no repeat of Israel’s attack on Iran’s key South Pars gas field, but warned of a furious US response if Tehran did not stop attacks on Qatar.
Iran responded that it would have “zero restraint” if its energy infrastructure were attacked again.
Oil markets have already been shaken by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
But international benchmark Brent rose 10 percent to $119 a barrel before falling back to $112, while European gas prices rose 35 percent, after Iranian missiles hit Qatar’s massive Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas complex in retaliation for the Israeli attack on South Pars on Wednesday.
The night attack on Ras Laffan, a repeated target since the start of the war on February 28, caused “significant damage”, QatarEngery said.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the attack was “clear evidence” that Iran was reneging on its promise to attack only American interests in the Gulf.
And the attacks attributed to Iran spread.
A drone crashed into the Samref refinery in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, the Saudi Defense Ministry said. The government reserved the “right to take military action” in response.
In Kuwait, drone attacks caused fires at the Mina Abdullah and Mina Al-Ahmadi refineries, which have a combined capacity of 800,000 barrels per day.
Even in Israel, media said an oil refinery in the port of Haifa was attacked on Thursday, after the military warned about missiles launched by Iran.
Trump indicated that he did not know in advance about Israel’s incursion into South Pars, which supplies about 70 percent of Iran’s domestic needs. But he said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack any more gas fields in Iran.
“We get along very well. It’s coordinated, but occasionally, he will do something” that the United States opposes, Trump said.
Trump previously warned that the United States would “blow up” South Pars if Tehran did not stop attacking Qatar. But he said Thursday there were no current plans to send troops to Iran.
Iran responded to the threats with defiance. The Khatam Al-Anbiya military operational command promised the “complete destruction” of the Gulf’s energy infrastructure if the Israeli attack was repeated, according to a statement carried by the Fars news agency.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media there would be “ZERO restraint” if Iran’s infrastructure were attacked again.
There is growing concern among the world’s major economies about the consequences of the conflict.
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands said they would “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz” but gave few details.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “reckless escalation” of the attacks and called for “direct talks between Americans and Iranians on this matter.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office warned that “attacks on critical infrastructure risk pushing the region into an even greater crisis,” after talks with Macron and NATO chief Mark Rutte.
India and China also expressed fresh concern about supplies flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel shortages have led to long queues at gas stations across Asia and rising costs around the world.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there is no timetable for ending the war, but that “we are on the right track” and Trump would choose when to end the fighting.
“Ultimately, it will be the president’s choice when we say, ‘Hey, we’ve accomplished what we need,'” he said at a news conference in Washington.
Commentators said the energy attacks showed gaps between the United States and Israel on war tactics.
“The conflict is drifting toward a war of attrition, with no clear signs of regime collapse in Iran,” Danny Citrinowicz, senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said in X.
The attacks “underscored how unstructured this campaign has become: it lacks strategic clarity, long-term planning and a defined end state.”
US media said the administration could ask Congress for more than $200 billion in additional funds for the war.
“I think that number could change. Obviously it takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.
(With additional contributions from News Desk)
