Israel won't target Iran's energy infrastructure anymore: Trump
Trump’s remarks come after Israel struck Iran’s South Pars natural gas field, marking a major escalation in the war.
US President Donald Trump has said that he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike Iran’s oil and gas infrastructure.
“Yeah, I did, I did. I told him, don’t do that,’ and he won’t do that,” Trump told reporters on Thursday when asked whether he had spoken to Netanyahu about targeting Iranian oil and gas facilities.
“We didn’t discuss; we are independent, but get along great. It’s coordinated,” said Trump.
“But on occasion, he’ll do something. And if I don’t like it, we’re not doing that anymore.”
Trump’s remarks come after Israel struck Iran’s South Pars natural gas field, the country’s largest gas reserve and a key pillar of its economy, marking a major escalation in the war.
The strike triggered sharp retaliation from Iran, which warned it would show “zero restraint” if its infrastructure is hit again and launched attacks on energy facilities across the region, including in Qatar and Kuwait.
Trump also said that he does not intend to deploy additional troops to the Middle East amid the war with Iran.
“I’m not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you, but I’m not putting troops”
Trump said the US military has already inflicted heavy damage on Iran’s capabilities.
“We’ve obliterated just about everything there is to obliterate, including leadership,” he said, claiming Iran’s navy, air force and air defence systems had been destroyed. “
We’re flying wherever we want, nobody’s even shooting at us.”