Dubai, March 20: Israel pledged to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian gas field after Iran intensified attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf, raising the stakes in a war that has sent shock waves through energy markets and the global economy.
Global fuel supplies were already under pressure because of Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
The Islamic Republic’s retaliation for Israel’s attack on its South Pars gas field sent fuel prices soaring even higher and risked drawing Iran’s Arab neighbours directly into the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Thursday that, at the request of President Donald Trump, Israel will hold off on any further attacks on the offshore gas field.
Trump, Netanyahu split on gas field attack
Trump and Netanyahu’s diverging language on Israel’s decision to attack a critical Iranian gas field marks the most notable difference of opinion between the two leaders since the start the war.
The aftermath of the strike left Trump and Netanyahu facing questions on whether they’re entirely in sync in prosecuting the war that began as a closely coordinated joint attack on the longtime regional foe. The emergence of daylight – or at least the appearance of it – between the two leaders could shape the balance of the conflict and any eventual endgame.
Trump, during an Oval Office meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, told reporters that he neither agreed with nor approved of Israel’s attack on the world’s largest gas field, which is an energy lifeline for Iran.
“I told him, ‘Don’t do that,’” Trump said of Netanyahu’s decision to strike. “We get along great. It’s coordinated, but on occasion he’ll do something. And if I don’t like it – and so we’re not doing that anymore.”
Netanyahu said that Israel “acted alone” and that he’s agreed to Trump’s request that Israel hold off on any further attack on Iran’s giant gas field. The prime minister also sought to downplay any space between him and Trump
Japan’s Takaichi tries to reaffirm alliance with Trump
Takaichi has sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Trump after the president this week seemed to complain that Japan was among the nations that did not quickly join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.
Takaichi, who met with Trump at the White House, told the Republican president that Japan has opposed Iran’s development of its nuclear programme and appealed to his desire to be seen as a peacemaker, despite his launching a war of choice with Iran. She told the US president that in the Middle East and around the world now, there was “a very severe security environment,” but said, “Even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world.”
Earlier Thursday, the leaders of five European countries and Japan issued a joint statement demanding that Iran stop attacks on the Strait of Hormuz that block commercial shipping, and said they are ready to contribute to “appropriate efforts” to ensure ships can pass safely through the strait, though it is not clear what that entails. (AP)
