Iran war: Trump says no more Israeli attacks on South Pars

The Qatari Interior Ministry announced that civil defense teams have contained the fires that erupted at a major gas facility in the Gulf state's north following an Iranian attack.

"Civil Defence has fully brought all fires under control in the Ras Laffan Industrial Area without any reported injuries. Cooling and sites-securing operations are still ongoing," the ministry wrote on X.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday called on Iran to cease its attacks on neighboring Gulf states, saying it reserved the right to take military action against Tehran itself if deemed necessary.

"Iran's attacks on neighboring countries were premeditated and what we are witnessing now confirms this," said Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi foreign minister, dismissing Iran's argument that its attacks are aimed at US military bases in the region.

Bin Farhan was speaking to Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera following talks with foreign ministers from fellow Arab and Islamic countries in Riyadh on Wednesday night after which he said the Tehran regime was furthering its own isolation through its actions.

"I would hope that they understand the message of the meeting today, recalculate quickly and stop attacking their neighbors," bin Farhan was quoted as saying. "We are going to use every lever we have, political, economic, diplomatic ... to get these attacks to stop."

Reuters reported that interceptor missiles were seen being fired over the Saudi capital close to the hotel where the foreign ministers from around a dozen countries — including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Syria — were gathered.

The Saudi Defense Ministry said four Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh had been shot down like hundreds of missiles and drones before. But, for the first time since the start of the conflict, people in the city reportedly heard the blasts for themselves or received warning messages via text.

Bin Farhan said Saudi Arabia still preferred the path of diplomacy, but warned: "If Iran doesn't stop immediately, I think there will be almost nothing that can re-establish trust. This ‌pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally. Certainly we reserve the right to take military actions if deemed necessary."

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday night that "no more attacks will be made by Israel" on the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf after Iran retaliated by striking liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities in Qatar.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed the United States "knew nothing about this particular attack" [on South Pars] — in direct contradiction to both Israeli officials and a US defense official who told Axios that the strike, while not involving US forces, had indeed been conducted with Washington's knowledge and approval.

Trump condemned the Iranian retaliation against Qatar and threatened to "massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before" should Tehran continue to target Qatari LNG facilities.

Iran condemned the strike on its massive natural gas field, with President Masoud Pezeshkian warning of "uncontrollable consequences" that "could engulf the entire world."

An industrial site in northern Qatar was struck again by Iranian missiles on Thursday morning, just hours after an earlier strike had already caused "extensive damage."

State-owned petroleum company QatarEnergy said that several of its liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities at Ras Laffan were subject to renewed attacks in the early hours of Thursday, causing "sizeable fires" and more "extensive damage" — although no injuries were reported.

The Qatari Defense Ministry in Doha said Ras Laffan had been targeted with ballistic missiles, but it didn't say how many nor how many projectiles may have been intercepted by air defenses.

Iranian state media had earlier declared the Ras Laffan facility to be a target after Israel struck the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf — the world's largest natural gas reserve owned jointly be Iran and Qatar, which provides 70% of Iranian gas.

Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on Thursday, 19 March, 2026.

US President Donald Trump promised late on Wednesday via social media that Israel would launch no more attacks on the geopolitically important South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf.

His pledge came after Iran twice struck liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities in Qatar overnight in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the South Pars field.

Trump threatened large-scale US strikes on South Pars should Iranian attacks on Qatari LNG sites continue.

Meanwhile, Brent crude soared more than five percent early on Thursday in response to the Iranian strikes and threats against further Gulf oil facilities.