Middle East crisis live: Hegseth to address media after Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ entire South Pars gasfield | US-Israel war on Iran
Interim summary
In case you’re just just joining us, here’s a recap of the latest developments in the US-Israel war on Iran. It’s 10.30am in Tehran, 9am in Tel Aviv and Beirut and 3am in Washington DC.
-
Donald Trump has threatened to “massively blow up” the entire South Pars gas field if Iran carries out any more retaliatory attacks on Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities. The US president also said on his Truth Social platform that the US “knew nothing” about Israel’s Wednesday attack on the South Pars field – which Iran shares with Qatar – and neither did Qatar. Trump declared “no more attacks will be made by Israel” on the field – unless Iran attacks Qatar’s LNG, adding: “In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, 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.”
-
While Trump said the US “knew nothing” ahead of the South Pars attack, US media have reported that the White House was aware of it. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, said Trump approved of it in a bid to pressure Tehran into unblocking the strait of Hormuz.
-
Israel struck the South Pars field hours after Israeli forces killed the regime’s intelligence minister and launched some of the most intense airstrikes in Beirut for decades. Iran later launched attacks on its Gulf neighbours’ energy facilities: Qatar’s massive Ras Laffan LNG facility, and the Habshan gas facility and Bab field in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE said the Habshan and Bab field operations were shut down after interceptions over the sites, while Qatari officials said all fires at the Ras Laffan hub had been contained.
-
Saudi Arabia has not ruled out military action in response to repeated missile and drone attacks from Iran, the foreign minister said. Speaking after a meeting in Riyadh of foreign ministers from the region, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday that Iran “tries to pressure its neighbours” with attacks.
-
Vessels were reported to be hit by unknown projectiles overnight in the Persian Gulf and in the Gulf of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said. All crew were reported to be “safe and well” after the incident east of Ras Laffan, Qatar, it said, while earlier it received a report of another vessel being hit east of the UAE port of Khawr Fakkan by a projectile that caused a fire onboard.
-
Iran has executed three people convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations helping the US and Israel during unrest earlier this year, the Iranian judiciary said.
-
French president Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate moratorium on striking civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities, saying that civilian populations and their needs had to be “protected from military escalation”. He made the call in a social media post after speaking with Donald Trump and the emir of Qatar.
-
Cathay Pacific suspended flights to and from Dubai over the Middle East war.
-
Iran seeks compensation from the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of enabling US attacks against Iranian territory, Iran’s ambassador to the UN has told the UN secretary general in a letter, according to a Nournews report.
Key events
Deborah Cole
Germany’s parliament is taking unusual action to curb fuel prices in the wake of a spike from the Iran war.
Under a draft law set for approval today by the Bundestag lower house, petrol stations will only be able raise prices once a day, at 12 midday. They may be reduced at any time. Businesses violating the rule can be fined up to €100,000.
Watch for angry scenes in the queue at 11.55am.
After topping the list of EU countries with the highest rise in pump prices early on, Germany remains among the countries whose motorists are bearing the biggest brunt of the surge.
Compared to the week before the US-Israeli military action, prices had increased by 27 cents per litre for petrol and 42 cents for diesel, above the EU average of 20 cents/litre for petrol and 36 cents for diesel, according to EU Commission figures compiled by Monopolkommission, an independent economic advisory body to the German government.
It attributed the rapid rise in fuel prices in Germany to heavy market concentration.
The legislation before the Bundestag will also give the German Federal Cartel Office expanded powers to fight price gouging.
Armand Zorn, deputy chair of the Social Democrats parliamentary group, accused the industry of profiteering.
“We do not have a supply problem in Germany, but a clear pricing problem,” he told Bild newspaper. In hardly any other European country had such steep profits been made at the expense of consumers during the crisis, Zorn said.
But market watchers are divided whether the high noon rule, due to go into effect in early April for at least a year after passing the Bundesrat upper house, will do much to help consumers.
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) criticised the planned tightening of antitrust law and the speed with which it is being pushed through.
“The federal government is introducing far-reaching and risky changes to competition law through a rushed fast-track procedure,” said Holger Lösch, deputy chief executive of the BDI. He said that was creating uncertainty among businesses and jeopardising investment across sectors.
“Without involving industry and without a broad public debate, rules are being changed under the pressure of high fuel prices that go far beyond the current situation and would permanently alter the playing field for all companies,” Lösch said.
“This intervention in competition law threatens to do a disservice to the entire economy in terms of regulatory policy.”
Prices in recent weeks had been particularly volatile as well as generally elevated so advocates cite a calming effect that will kick in simply due to more predictability and transparency.
The stakes are high for the ruling coalition partners, chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats.
The parties are running neck-and-neck in a key state election on Sunday in Rhineland-Palatinate, two weeks after the CDU lost to the Greens in the car manufacturing region of Baden-Württemberg by a whisker. The parlous state of the German economy, the EU’s biggest, and inflation fears driven by the Iran war and US tariffs will be at the front of voters’ minds.
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth is due to hold a press conference on the Iran war at 8am ET (midday GMT).
We will have a live stream of that so you can watch along, and we’ll also provide text updates.
Iran’s foreign minister has criticised Emmanuel Macron, accusing him of failing to condemn Israel and the United States’ war with the Islamic republic, while voicing concern over Tehran’s retaliation.
On Wednesday, Macron called for imposing a moratorium on strikes after Iran attacked Qatar’s key Ras Laffan facilities, part of the world’s largest gas field.
The strikes followed an attack on Iranian facilities in the same gas field, which it shares with Qatar.
Abbas Araghchi responded by accusing Macron of ignoring earlier US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
He said the French president “has not uttered one word of condemnation of the Israel-US war on Iran”, and that he had failed to denounce strikes on fuel storages in Tehran on 7 March.
Araghchi wrote:
double quotation mark His current ‘concern’ didn’t follow Israel’s attack on our gas facilities. It follows our retaliation. Sad!
Julia Kollewe
As we’ve been reporting, gas prices jumped and oil prices have risen again after the escalation of attacks by Israel and Iran on gasfields heightened fears of prolonged disruption to international energy supplies.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 8% to $116 a barrel. Crude prices have soared by nearly 60% since US and Israeli attacks on Iran started the war on 28 February.
European gas prices jumped, with the Dutch wholesale gas price up 24% at €68 a megawatt hour, its highest since the end of December 2022. UK gas prices have more than doubled since late February.
You can read our full report on this here:
Jakub Krupa
Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, also called for de-escalation in the Middle East, welcoming what he said were signals by Trump that combat action in Iran could come to an end, which could allow Europe to contribute to securing peace in the region.
“I am expressly grateful that the US president sent a signal in this regard last night that he is prepared to bring the fighting to an end,” he told reporters ahead of an EU summit in Brussels in comments reported by Reuters.
Obviously, since then Trump has changed his narrative a bit again…
Either way, Merz reiterated that Europe is ready to help stabilise the Middle East once combat action has stopped.
Jakub Krupa
French president Emmanuel Macron has repeated his public call from last night after his phone calls with US president Donald Trump and the Emir of Qatar to de-escalate and prevent energy sites from being destroyed.
He also condemned the latest Iranian attacks on Gulf energy sites as “reckless escalation”.
He warned that if Middle Eastern energy “production capacities themselves are destroyed, this war will have a much more lasting impact”, calling for “direct talks between the Americans and Iranians on this matter”.
Energy sites in the Middle East that have come under attack
Lorenzo Tondo
In retaliation for an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field — the largest natural gas field in the world — Tehran is exerting pressure on Gulf states by targeting critical energy infrastructure.
Officials in Qatar said this morning that Iranian missiles struck Ras Laffan, the country’s principal gas hub, causing what officials described as “significant damage”.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation reported that a drone hit an operational unit at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, about 50km (31 miles) south of Kuwait City, sparking a fire. No casualties were reported.
A second drone strike targeted the Mina Abdullah refinery in southern Kuwait, also igniting a fire, according to the state oil company.
UAE authorities said they were dealing with incidents at Habshan gas facility and Bab oilfield, after debris from intercepted missiles fell in the area. No injuries have been reported.
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said a drone crashed at the Saudi Aramco-operated Samref refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, with “damage assessments” ongoing.
Here are some pictures on the newswires from the Middle East:
Iran considers transit fees on shipping through strait of Hormuz – state media
Iran is reportedly considering a transit fee on shipping passing through the strait of Hormuz, according to state media.
About 20% of global oil supplies have been effectively blocked from transiting the strait of Hormuz since Iran began attacking ships. US president Donald Trump has suggested sending warships to clear a safe path for commercial sea traffic, a notion firmly rejected by European allies.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported that a new Iranian government would sanction “domination-seeking powers” who use the strait of Hormuz.
“At the end of current imposed war, with drawing a new regime for the strait of Hormuz, Iran will turn its position from a sanctioned country to an enhanced power in the region and the world,” Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, was quoted as saying.
“We will sanction those domination-seeking arrogant powers using the strait of Hormuz to not allow their ships pass through the strait.”
AFP, citing the state-affiliated Iranian Student news agency, reported an Iranian politician as saying the government was considering a bill under which countries using the key trade route to pay tolls and taxes to Tehran for shipping, energy transit and food supplies.
Four people killed in overnight Iranian missile attacks against Israel
Four people including three Palestinian women and a foreign national were killed overnight during Iran’s missile attacks against Israel.
Three Palestinian women were killed in Beit Awwa, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, when debris or possibly a munition from an Iranian missile fell on a women’s hair salon, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent and local media reports.
A Thai agricultural worker was also killed in central Israel, Thailand’s foreign ministry said. The Israeli Hareetz newspaper reported a Thai national in his 20s was killed by a direct hit on an agricultural structure in the Sharon area just north of Tel Aviv.
Drone crashed at Saudi oil refinery, defence ministry says
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said a drone crashed at oil giant Saudi Aramco’s Samref refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, according to state media.
Maj Gen Turki Al-Malki, a defence ministry spokesperson, said a ballistic missile launched toward Yanbu port was intercepted and destroyed, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The ministry said “damage assessment” was under way, without elaborating.
European gas prices jump 35% as attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf intensify
European natural gas prices rose as much as 35% today after attacks to energy infrastructure in the Gulf intensified.
European gas prices have increased by more than 60% since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February, Reuters news agency reported.
The price of Brent crude – the global benchmark – also increased to $112 a barrel today. It settled yesterday at $107.38 a barrel, according to reports, bringing the cost of crude oil up more than 48% since the war began. It has not dropped below the $100 threshold since 13 March.
Uncertainty continues to grow over how the escalating war in the Middle East would affect energy supplies, as attacks were reported in Qatar and Kuwait this morning, a day after Iran’s largest natural gas field was hit.
Qatar said Iranian missiles caused “extensive damage” to its main gas facility at Ras Laffan, while Kuwaiti state media reported attacks at two of the country’s oil refineries.
For the latest economic and financial news, you can follow our business live blog here:
Kuwaiti state media has reported a drone attack on a second oil refinery in the country.
The attack at Mina Abdullah refinery, operated by Kuwait National Petroleum Company, was targeted this morning by a drone resulting in a fire at the site, the Kuwait News Agency reported.
“Emergency and rapid response teams were immediately deployed to contain and control the fire in accordance with the highest approved safety standards,” the agency said in a post on X.
It did not say where the attack was launched from, but came moments after a report of a drone attack at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery about 7 miles away.
Oil refinery targeted in Kuwait – state media
An oil refinery in Kuwait was targeted in a drone strike this morning, sparking a “limited” fire , according to state media.
The fire at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery was contained and there were no reports of injuries, the Kuwait News Agency reported, citing the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. The report did not say where the strike was launched from.
The oil refinery is located about 30 miles south of Kuwait City. It is one of the largest oil refineries in the Middle East, with a petroleum production capacity of 730,000 barrels per day.
Interim summary
In case you’re just just joining us, here’s a recap of the latest developments in the US-Israel war on Iran. It’s 10.30am in Tehran, 9am in Tel Aviv and Beirut and 3am in Washington DC.
-
Donald Trump has threatened to “massively blow up” the entire South Pars gas field if Iran carries out any more retaliatory attacks on Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities. The US president also said on his Truth Social platform that the US “knew nothing” about Israel’s Wednesday attack on the South Pars field – which Iran shares with Qatar – and neither did Qatar. Trump declared “no more attacks will be made by Israel” on the field – unless Iran attacks Qatar’s LNG, adding: “In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, 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.”
-
While Trump said the US “knew nothing” ahead of the South Pars attack, US media have reported that the White House was aware of it. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, said Trump approved of it in a bid to pressure Tehran into unblocking the strait of Hormuz.
-
Israel struck the South Pars field hours after Israeli forces killed the regime’s intelligence minister and launched some of the most intense airstrikes in Beirut for decades. Iran later launched attacks on its Gulf neighbours’ energy facilities: Qatar’s massive Ras Laffan LNG facility, and the Habshan gas facility and Bab field in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE said the Habshan and Bab field operations were shut down after interceptions over the sites, while Qatari officials said all fires at the Ras Laffan hub had been contained.
-
Saudi Arabia has not ruled out military action in response to repeated missile and drone attacks from Iran, the foreign minister said. Speaking after a meeting in Riyadh of foreign ministers from the region, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday that Iran “tries to pressure its neighbours” with attacks.
-
Vessels were reported to be hit by unknown projectiles overnight in the Persian Gulf and in the Gulf of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said. All crew were reported to be “safe and well” after the incident east of Ras Laffan, Qatar, it said, while earlier it received a report of another vessel being hit east of the UAE port of Khawr Fakkan by a projectile that caused a fire onboard.
-
Iran has executed three people convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations helping the US and Israel during unrest earlier this year, the Iranian judiciary said.
-
French president Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate moratorium on striking civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities, saying that civilian populations and their needs had to be “protected from military escalation”. He made the call in a social media post after speaking with Donald Trump and the emir of Qatar.
-
Cathay Pacific suspended flights to and from Dubai over the Middle East war.
-
Iran seeks compensation from the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of enabling US attacks against Iranian territory, Iran’s ambassador to the UN has told the UN secretary general in a letter, according to a Nournews report.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco’s Samref refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu was targeted in an aerial attack on Thursday, an industry source has told Reuters, adding there was minimal impact.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards on Thursday issued an evacuation warning to several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, including Samref, which is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil.
Yanbu is currently the only export outlet for any crude oil out of Gulf Arab countries as Iran has effectively shut the vital strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply normally flows.
Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the report said.
Iran seeks compensation from the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of enabling US attacks against Iranian territory, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has told the UN secretary general in a letter, according to a Nournews report published on Thursday.
In the letter, cited by Reuters, Amir Saeid Iravani said the UAE’s decision to allow its territory to be used for the strikes constituted “an internationally wrongful act that entailed state responsibility”.
Tehran said the UAE had an international responsibility to provide reparation, including compensation for all material and moral damages incurred.
Donald Trump has said the US “knew nothing” of Israel’s attack on the huge South Pars gasfield in Iran on Wednesday, but US media reported earlier that the White House was aware of the attack.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials, that the US president approved of it in a bid to pressure Tehran into unblocking the strait of Hormuz.
A few hours ago Trump threatened to “massively blow up” the South Pars gasfield – the world’s largest – after the Israel hit on the site prompted Tehran to step up attacks on energy facilities across the Middle East.
There’s more on this and other key news lines from the war in our latest full report from my colleague Callum Jones here:
