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Trump distances US from Israeli strike on Iran's South Pars field
US President Donald Trump issued a strongly worded statement on Thursday regarding recent military exchanges between Israel and Iran, denying prior knowledge of Israel's attack on the South Pars gas field-a claim contradicted by multiple Israeli media reports.
Contradictions in Trump's account
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated the US "knew nothing about this particular attack," directly conflicting with reports from Israeli outlets. Yedioth Ahronoth, a centrist newspaper, reported that the strike was "co-ordinated in advance with the United States" and approved by both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, right-wing paper Israel Hayom claimed Trump discussed the operation with leaders of three Persian Gulf states over the weekend.
Trump's description of the Israeli strike as an "out of anger" response that "violently lashed out" further muddied the narrative, using language typically reserved for Iran's retaliatory actions rather than those of a close ally.
Mixed signals on US-Israel alignment
The president's post included a rare all-caps warning: "NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field, unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case Qatar." Analysts questioned whether this reflected a prior agreement with Netanyahu or a veiled rebuke.
Israeli officials, however, sought to downplay any rift. Alex Gandler, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in London, told the BBC that the two nations remain "very much aligned on most or all of our goals regarding the Islamic regime in Iran, the IRGC, their ballistic and nuclear programmes."
"We want the same thing."
Alex Gandler, Israeli Embassy spokesman
Diverging strategies in the Iran conflict
Despite shared objectives, Israel has pursued a more aggressive approach toward regime change in Iran. Israeli media quoted officials framing the South Pars attack as part of a broader effort to destabilize Tehran's authority, with one telling Yedioth Ahronoth: "The gas supply to citizens is being shut off, and that will bring the uprising closer."
While the US has focused on degrading Iran's military capabilities-including missile and drone systems, naval assets, and coastal targets-Israel has prioritized assassinations of Iranian leaders and attacks on state control infrastructure, such as the Basij paramilitary units.
Trump's threats and the Qatar factor
Trump's statement emphasized Qatar's neutrality, insisting the Gulf state had "no advance knowledge" of the attacks. He suggested Iran may have mistakenly believed Qatar was involved, calling its retaliatory strike "unjustifiably and unfairly" executed.
The president escalated his rhetoric with a stark warning: if Iran targets Qatar's LNG facilities again, the US "will 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"-with or without Israeli consent.
This reference to bypassing Israeli approval raised eyebrows, with some interpreting it as a rebuke to Netanyahu or a signal of growing frustration within the Trump administration over the war's trajectory.
Political and economic fallout
The latest exchanges between Israel and Iran have driven energy prices higher, complicating efforts to secure shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. While support for the war remains high in Israel, US public approval has dipped below 50%, posing risks for Trump's Republican Party ahead of November's midterm elections.
The conflict has also highlighted the challenges of coordinating a joint war effort between the US and Israel, with Trump's impatience evident as the situation grows increasingly complex. As one official noted, "This is the first time they've fought a war together," and the learning curve appears steep.
