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Live. Qatar expels officials from Iran’s embassy after attacks on Ras Laffan gas field
US President Donald Trump says Israel was solely responsible for Wednesday’s attacks on Iran and the world’s largest gas field, the South Pars, but has vowed to “entirely blow up” the facility if Tehran continues to target Qatari LNG facilities again. Follow our live blog.
Welcome to our live coverage of day 20 of the war in Iran, where US President Donald Trump has issued a daring threat to Iran, vowing to blow up the entirety of the world’s largest gas field, the South Pars, if attacks on Qatari LNG facilities repeat.
The warning comes after Iran fired missiles at Qatar’s largest gas field, Ras Laffan, in retaliation for an attack that targeted South Pars on Wednesday. Trump in a post on Truth Social, says Israel acted alone without US knowledge in the attack, but has promised they would not target the site again.
The attacks have sparked global outrage with Iran’s neighbours in the Gulf region condemning the strikes. Riyadh says the attacks on GCC energy facilities have shattered any hopes for normalcy after the war comes to an end.
The strikes on Qatari and Iranian gas fields have caused further spikes in an already rapidly worsening global energy price crisis. Brent crude shot up by roughly 5 per cent following the incidents, and now trades at roughly $108 a barrel.
Meanwhile US-Israeli attacks are continuing to pound Tehran, as Iran retaliates with its own strikes on Israel and the wider region. The death toll has spiked in all fronts of the war, now nearing 1,450 in Iran, 912 in Lebanon, 17 in Israel, 21 across the Gulf and 13 US troops.
Follow our live blog for the latest updates from our journalists in the region and worldwide.
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Satellite images show damage to UAE air base
Satellite images show damage at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates after repeated Iranian attacks targeting the facility hosting American troops.
The images, taken by an Airbus Defence and Space’s Pléiades Neo satellite, show damage at one set of hangars to the northwest of the facility in Abu Dhabi.
Another hangar to the southeast of the facility appears shredded by fire, with an adjacent hangar sustaining roof damage.
It’s unclear what had been in the hangars.
Al Dhafra had hosted some 2,000 US troops and has served as a major base of operations for everything from armed drones to F-35 stealth fighters in recent years.
9:08 GMT+1
Iran’s foreign minister lashes out at Macron
Iran’s foreign minister lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday over his comments on Tehran attacking Qatar.
Macron wrote he spoke with US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s emir over Iran’s attack.
“It is in our common interest to implement, without delay, a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities,” Macron wrote on X.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Macron’s comments “sad!”
“Macron has not uttered one word of condemnation of the Israel-US war on Iran,” Araghchi wrote on X. “He did not condemn Israel when it blew up fuel storage in Tehran, exposing millions to toxins. His current “concern” didn’t follow Israel’s attack on our gas facilities.”
9:11 GMT+1
Kuwait says second oil refinery ablaze after drone attack
Kuwait said a drone attack set a second oil refinery ablaze in the small, oil-rich nation on Thursday.
The blaze hit the Mina Abdullah refinery.
The nearby Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery earlier caught fire after a drone attack.
#KPC: one of operational units at Mina Abdullah Refinery, operated by #Kuwait National Petroleum Company (#KNPC), was targeted this morning by a drone resulting in a fire at the site.
Emergency & rapid response teams were immediately deployed to contain and control the fire in… pic.twitter.com/FyWj91dPyC— Kuwait News Agency – English Feed (@kuna_en) March 19, 2026
9:00 GMT+1
Saudi air defences destroy six drones
Saudi Arabia says its air defences intercepted and downed six drones in Riyadh and the Eastern Province on Thursday.
More details to follow.
8:52 GMT+1
Trump threatens to ‘blow up the entirety’ of the world’s largest gas field
US President Donald Trump has vowed to “blow up the entirety” of the world’s largest gas field, the South Pars, situated in Iran, if Tehran repeats attacks on Qatari LNG facilities.
On Wednesday, Iran targeted Doha’s largest Ras Laffan gas field in retaliation for an earlier attack on its South Pars.
Trump says Israel launched the attack on the gas field without US knowledge or involvement and has promised no further attacks from them on the site.
Read the full article:
Trump threatens to ‘entirely blow up’ Iran’s South Pars gas field
Trump has vowed to “blow up the entirety” of Iran’s South Pars gas field if Tehran moves to attack Qatari gas fields again. The warning comes after Iran, in re…
