US and Israel give mixed messages on Iran gas field attack

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Israeli officials appear to have contradicted the White House’s claim that Donald Trump “knew nothing” about the plan to strike Iran’s South Pars gas field. The attack was a major escalation, triggering retaliation on Qatari energy infrastructure and causing another jump in oil and gas prices. Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel acted alone but did not clarify whether Trump was aware of the plan ahead of time. Reports had earlier suggested that the US greenlit the attack. The truth matters because Qatar says it has lost 17% of its capacity to export liquefied natural gas due to revenge strikes by Iran. Repairs will take up to five years and cost roughly $20bn in annual revenue. The net result is that both Israel and the US look like unreliable allies.