Middle East War: March 18 Battle Summary — Iran Strikes the World's Largest Liquefied Natural Gas Plant...
The attack occurred in Ras Laffan Industrial Area in Qatar (the country's core industrial cluster), which houses six independent but closely arranged natural gas processing plants (the seventh is under construction and not yet operational).
With this area, Qatar exports over 80 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually, accounting for 21% of global liquefied natural gas exports.
The trigger for this attack was Israel's strike on Iran's largest natural gas field, South Pars Field, an operation that received American tacit approval (although Trump later denied it for reasons outlined below). That night, Iran released a list of targets for retaliation, including the first two production lines of the Ras Laffan plant. Iran then launched two missiles several hours apart to carry out the attack.
Given the scale of the facility and the flammability of its products (along with full storage tanks), a huge fire broke out at the site. The extent of damage to the production facilities could not be determined until the fire was completely extinguished, but Qatar has stated that the damage is very severe.
Additionally, targets within Saudi Arabia listed on Iran's list have also been attacked.
Trump immediately responded to Iran's attack, stating that it had nothing to do with him. However, it is intriguing that he also said he would bear the consequences of the attack, and as long as there are no subsequent strikes (i.e., destroying the remaining four plants in Qatar, which would lead to Qatar's complete collapse), the U.S. would not take retaliatory action.
In fact, such actions by Israel were expected. For Israel, the war against Iran had fallen into an unnecessary stalemate and needed to be escalated urgently to break the deadlock. The reason is that pressure on Trump domestically continues to rise: the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, publicly resigned, and yesterday, his superior, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, testified before Congress, which clearly illustrates the issue—she tried to exonerate herself (for future considerations, because perjury is a criminal offense in the U.S., and senior officials are often charged with this crime), while also unwilling to betray Trump.
This means that Congress will definitely not approve the continuation of the war against Iran, and even without these testimonies, this is evident. These testimonies further confirm: after the war investigation concludes, all relevant participants of Trump will face legal consequences, which makes their willingness to participate in the war increasingly low.
I repeat once again: it is now very clear (especially after Joe Kent's resignation and accusation against Trump, and Tulsi Gabbard's testimony), Congress will not approve the continuation of the war. Trump must end the war within 60 days (starting from February 28, 2026), i.e., by late April at the latest, theoretically up to late May (he may attempt to apply for an additional 30 days, but it is almost impossible at this point). Considering the current situation, Trump is unlikely to do so, and therefore he may use this as an excuse to abandon Israel, leaving the region to face an enraged Iran alone.
The Israeli leadership knows this well. Therefore, Israel has taken a desperate gamble, trying every possible way to drag all regional countries into direct warfare, making these countries victims of Netanyahu's ambition.
Compared to Trump and Netanyahu, both clearly irrational figures, Iran's position is exemplary. This country, which has suffered unprovoked aggression, did not launch indiscriminate attacks, but only took equivalent retaliation, which caused great suffering to the aggressor. This time, Iran issued a warning beforehand about the attack on Qatar, and the U.S. can only acknowledge the legitimacy of the warning, but has no power to assist in intercepting it, which speaks volumes on its own.
At the same time, Iran has gone further: the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that it will formulate clear and understandable navigation rules for the Strait of Hormuz, establishing a regular legal system for passage through the strait. Obviously, the passage permit will be decided by Iran, and ships from aggressor countries and their affiliated nations will not be allowed to pass.
This move by Iran has clear long-term considerations and is not a spontaneous act. Iran aims to implement this system as soon as possible, allowing passage for allied countries and some European nations, thus demonstrating its spirit of contract to rational countries, while delaying time until late April. During this period, it will push the "international community" (if it has the capability) to continue urging Trump to refrain from ground operations in the strait area—once ground operations are initiated, this navigation system will inevitably be abolished, and the responsibility will entirely fall on Trump. This is a highly wise and timely decision.
This also once again proves how foolish the actions of Trump and Netanyahu were in eliminating the old Iranian leadership. The old leadership, due to being rigid and conservative, was originally easier to be targeted and organized into a coalition against them, but now they are at a loss in front of the younger, stronger, and wiser new Iranian leadership.
On the other hand, Brent crude oil prices have reached $115 per barrel, and given the current situation, this is far from the upper limit.
This is my view of the Middle East battlefield on March 18 — a war initiated by the U.S. and Israel on February 28, 2026, which has completely deviated from their plans.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7619169670632964662/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.