Qatar reached out to US officials after Iran’s retaliation, while a new report claims prior coordination between Washington and Israel in the South Pars gas field strike.
US President Donald Trump (File photo: X/@WhiteHouse)
A new report has suggested that the United States may have been aware of, and even supported, Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, despite earlier public denials by President Donald Trump.
The development comes at a time of rising tensions in West Asia, with energy infrastructure becoming a key target. While the US had initially said it had no prior knowledge of the strike, the latest claims raise questions about coordination between Washington and Tel Aviv and the risk of further escalation involving Qatar’s gas facilities.
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According to a report by Axios, citing Israeli officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump were in touch before the strike. The report said the operation was meant to send a strong message to Iran and stop it from interfering with oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Axios further reported that the Israeli Air Force carried out the attack on the gas processing site in southwest Iran on Wednesday night, and that it had been cleared by the White House.
After Iran responded with missile fire, officials in Qatar reached out to senior US authorities, including White House envoy Steve Witkoff and military leadership at CENTCOM, seeking clarity on whether Washington had prior information about the strike, the report said.
Witkoff is said to have held multiple calls with Qatari officials and worked to set up an urgent conversation between President Trump and Qatar’s emir.
Earlier, Trump had publicly denied any US involvement, saying Israel acted “out of anger” when it struck the South Pars facility. He maintained that Washington had no advance knowledge of the operation.
In a strongly worded post on Truth Social, Trump said only a small part of the large gas field had been hit. He also insisted that neither the US nor Qatar had any role in the attack.
At the same time, he warned of serious consequences if Iran targets Qatar again. Trump said the United States would not hesitate to respond with overwhelming force if energy installations in Qatar are attacked once more.
Following the strike, Iran targeted LNG infrastructure in Qatar, including sites linked to Ras Laffan Industrial City. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also issued a warning, saying any repeat action against Iran’s energy assets by the US or Israel could lead to a much stronger response.
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