20/03/2026

FRIDAY | MAR 20, 2026

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Trump denies US, Qatari hand in gas field attack

UK working to support Gulf allies LONDON: Britain said it was working to provide more support for its partners in the Gulf who are under attack from Iran, as it announced plans to buy extra missiles to protect the region. Britain’s fighter jets and other forces have been helping shoot down Iranian drones, and one of its warships is heading to the eastern Mediterranean, although the government has been criticised for not being able to send it sooner. The British RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus was hit by an Iranian-made drone on March 1, but the HMS Dragon did not depart until March 10, leading to scrutiny of Britain’s military readiness. Britain, which also has a military presence in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere, said it would order further lightweight multirole missiles from Thales UK in Belfast to supply its forces as well as partners in the region, adding that it would also provide them with training in the UK. Ambassadors and defence attaches from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Iraq and Jordan recently attended a meeting with Britain’s Defence Readiness Minister Luke Pollard, according to a statement from the ministry. They discussed how to provide new defence equipment and technology at pace with representatives from suppliers, such as BAE Systems, MBDA and Leonardo UK to counter Iranian attacks. – Reuters Australia says fuel supply levels stable SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday urged citizens to avoid panic buying of petrol and diesel, which he said had led to shortages in some rural regions, and emphasised that the nation’s fuel supply levels remained stable. Australia is dependent on imports for about 90% of its fuel needs, and fear of supply disruptions due to the escalating war in the Middle East has led to a doubling of fuel demand in some regions resulting in localised shortages. He said the federal government had already taken steps to ensure an uninterrupted supply of fuel into the country. “Our fuel supply is currently secure. However, I want us to be overprepared,” Albanese said. “My message to Australians is please do not take more fuel than you need. That is how you can help. That’s the Australian way,” he said, following a meeting with state and territory leaders. Conflict in the Middle East intensified on Wednesday, driving oil prices higher, as Iran accused Israel of striking its facilities in the South Pars gas field and retaliated with attacks on oil and gas targets across the Gulf. Albanese said his government would roll out additional measures in the coming days to safeguard fuel supply and appointed Anthea Harris, the former boss of the Australian Energy Regulator, as head of a national fuel supply taskforce to address shortages and improve the domestic fuel supply chain. The Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday said the war is a material risk to the Australian economy, although it added that domestic banks remained well-positioned to support growth in the event of a significant downturn. After widespread concerns among consumers over fuel pricing and supply issues, Australia’s competition regulator yesterday began an investigation into allegations of anti-competitive conduct by major fuel suppliers including Ampol, BP’s Australian unit, Mobil Oil Australia and Viva Energy, which operates Shell and Liberty fuel stations. Neighbouring New Zealand said it had asked officials to work on plans for an eight-to-12-week response period to mitigate supply disruptions. – Reuters

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said an attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field was carried out by Israel, and the US and Qatar were not involved in it. He also said Israel would not carry out any more attacks on Iranian facilities in South Pars unless Iran attacked Qatar, adding that the US would attack those facilities if Iran acted against Doha. “The United States knew nothing about this particular attack and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to o President claims no further strikes to be made by Israel

called “a flagrant breach” of international law, expelling two senior Iranian diplomats. Trump wrote on social media that Iran “unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.” “No more attacks will be made by Israel pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack Qatar, in which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field,” he said. The US and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb 28. The attacks have killed thousands in Iran, including its supreme leader and security chief. Tehran has responded with its own attacks against Israel and Gulf countries that host US military bases. The war has shaken markets and caused unprecedented disruption to oil supplies fuelling a surge in prices. – Reuters

happen,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. Israel has not publicly claimed responsibility for the South Pars attack. According to the Wall Street Journal and news platform Axios, Trump knew of Israel’s plan to attack the Iranian part of the world’s largest natural gas deposit in advance and supported it. Iran shares the South Pars field with Qatar, a close US ally. Iran had said earlier that Israel struck its facilities in South Pars on Wednesday in a major escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran that sent oil prices shooting higher. Tehran retaliated by promising attacks on oil and gas targets throughout the Gulf, firing missiles at Saudi Arabia and also hitting Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, an energy-industry hub. Doha rebuked Israel for a “dangerous and irresponsible” attack on Iran’s South Pars facilities, and condemned Iran for what it

WARM WELCOME ... Dancers perform during a visit by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Government Middle School in Nuku’alofa, Tonga. – AFPPIC

At least eight killed in Brazil police operation, including drug lord RIO DE JANEIRO: At least eight individuals died on Wednesday during a police operation against organised crime in Rio de Janeiro, including one of Brazil’s most-wanted drug lords, authorities said. groups, Comando Vermelho (Red Command), said military police chief Marcelo Menezes Nogueira. with his partner, who survived. He said the fatality came when the hostage takers opened fire at police during talks to free the captives.

Dos Santos had at least eight outstanding arrest warrants for kidnapping, drug trafficking and homicide, Nogueira told a press conference. He described Dos Santos as “a ruthless and bloodthirsty drug trafficker” who had 135 criminal charges on record. Police also killed six other suspected criminals. He added that the eighth victim was a local resident who had been taken hostage along

Officers also arrested 116 individuals and seized 21 guns, 105kg of cocaine and 600kg of marijuana, police said in a statement. In retaliation for the police operation, a bus was set on fire on a major avenue in downtown Rio, and barricades were erected using other vehicles, AFP journalists witnessed. Nogueira said that Red Command members were behind the actions which caused traffic chaos in the city center. – AFP

About 150 members of the city’s elite BOPE military police unit, backed by two armored vehicles, deployed in several favelas near the touristy Santa Teresa neighborhood targeting a prominent narcotrafficker. “A major armed confrontation ensued,” leading to the death of the target, Claudio Augusto dos Santos, 55, identified as a key figure within one of Brazil’s largest criminal