"Tremendous Risks Loom" Iran Launches Immediate Retaliation After Gas Field Strike [US-Iran War]

Iranian President Warns, "This Will Further Complicate the Situation"

Appears to Be an Israeli-Only Attack

CNN and AP Report No U.S. Involvement

Masoud Pezeshkian, President of Iran. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

After Iran's massive gas field was targeted in an airstrike, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on March 18 (local time) that attacks on the country's core energy infrastructure could pose enormous risks. In retaliation, Iran immediately launched missile strikes on a cluster of gas facilities in Qatar, which supplies 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG).

President Pezeshkian wrote on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that "this attack will only complicate the situation further, and its repercussions could trigger uncontrollable consequences that sweep across the globe." He emphasized, "Such attacks will bring no benefit to our enemies (the United States and Israel)."

His remarks came shortly after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes hit Iran's largest gas field, the South Pars facility. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Israel on this day attacked Iran's South Pars gas field as well as a natural gas processing facility complex on Iran's southwestern coast in Asaluyeh. The South Pars gas field, the largest in the world, is jointly operated by Iran and Qatar.

The Iranian political establishment also signaled a hardline response. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran's Parliament, declared an "eye for an eye" retaliation following the attacks on energy facilities, stating that "a new phase of confrontation has begun."

Indeed, on this day Iran carried out missile strikes on the gas facility cluster in Qatar, which is responsible for 20% of the world's LNG supply. According to Qatar's Ministry of Interior, Iran's attack caused a fire at a key national gas facility in the industrial city of Ras Laffan on the northern coast. QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company, announced that "extensive damage has occurred."

The U.S. Trump administration was reportedly not involved in these attacks. U.S. broadcaster CNN cited American officials as saying the United States did not carry out the strikes. The Associated Press (AP) also reported, citing sources, that while the United States was notified of Israel's plan to attack the gas fields, it did not participate in the operation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.