Israeli strikes on Iran's South Pars gas field have sharply escalated the iran israel conflict, prompting Iranian retaliation against Gulf energy sites and global market shocks, officials and leaders said.
Israel carried out the strike on the South Pars offshore complex, which is shared with Qatar, and later struck targets in Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces said, according to multiple outlets.
The United States said it was informed about Israel's plans to strike South Pars but did not take part, as reported by the Associated Press.
President Donald Trump told reporters he had asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure and warned on social media that the United States would "massively blow up the entirety" of the field if Iran continued striking Qatar, as reported by AP and The New York Times.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a House hearing that US objectives differ from Israel's, saying the president's aims focus on degrading Iran's ballistic missile launch and production capabilities, and its IRGC navy and mine laying, while she described Israeli operations as focused on decapitating Iranian leadership.
Rep. Joaquin Castro pressed Gabbard about alignment between US and Israeli goals, and Gabbard said she was not privy to Israeli deliberations and could not explain why Israel struck energy infrastructure, according to reporting and hearing transcripts.
The Israeli government has said it targeted senior Iranian officials in recent strikes. The New York Times reported the killing of senior Iranian security figures, and other outlets reported additional high-level deaths, illustrating disputed but severe blows to Iran's leadership ranks.
Regional Impact Market Reaction And Military Moves
Iran responded by striking energy facilities across the Gulf, hitting Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG hub and operations in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which Gulf states called a dangerous escalation, according to AP and CBS News.
QatarEnergy said attacks on Ras Laffan reduced liquefied natural gas export capacity by 17 percent and would take three to five years to repair, causing major revenue loss, as reported by The New York Times and CBS.
Oil and gas prices spiked after the attacks. Brent crude rose as high as $119 a barrel before settling near $108.65, and US benchmarks briefly approached $99, according to The New York Times and other market reports.
Markets plunged on renewed uncertainty about supplies and the effective choking of the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has attacked commercial vessels and sought to restrict traffic, Reuters and CBS reported.
European and Gulf leaders urged de‑escalation. France, Germany, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan issued a joint call for a moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, The New York Times said.
The United States and allies have weighed measures to calm markets, including releases from strategic reserves and suspending sanctions to free Iranian barrels already at sea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business as reported by The New York Times.
The Pentagon is seeking large additional funding for operations. Reporting in The Washington Post and The New York Times said the Defense Department requested roughly $200 billion to sustain military activities in the region.
Military developments included US Central Command statements that a US F‑35 made an emergency landing after a combat mission and that CENTCOM struck a missile assembly site in Karaj, while US and allied forces continued precision strikes across Iran, according to The New York Times and CBS.
Casualty figures vary across outlets. The Associated Press reported more than 1,300 killed in Iran, The New York Times said more than 2,300 people have died mostly in Iran, and The Guardian reported figures above 3,000, underscoring differing tallies from multiple sources.
