Trump rebukes Netanyahu over South Pars gas field strike; Israel agrees to halt Iranian energy site attacks

Israeli forces struck Iran's South Pars gas field (the world's largest natural gas field, shared with Qatar) on approximately Day 19-20 of the war. The strike triggered Iranian retaliatory attacks on energy assets across the Middle East, including Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG complex and Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, causing oil and gas prices to surge sharply. On Day 21 (Friday March 20), US President Trump publicly acknowledged complaining to Netanyahu about the South Pars strike: "I told him don't do that," Trump told reporters at the White House. He added that Netanyahu "won't do that again in the future." Netanyahu subsequently announced Israel would halt strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. Bloomberg and NPR reported that Israel formally communicated it would no longer target energy sites after Trump's rebuke. This reveals a critical US-Israel strategic divergence: Israel has been targeting Iranian economic infrastructure (including energy) as a pressure multiplier, while the US is focused on military objectives (missile capability, nuclear program, navy/air force) and wants to contain oil price impacts on the global economy. Brent crude at 45/bbl reflects the accumulated damage from energy site strikes throughout the war.