Macron Urges Halt to Strikes on Civilian Energy, Water Sites in West Asia

In a message posted on social media, Macron said he had spoken with US President Donald Trump and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, following strikes that had hit gas production facilities in Iran and Qatar, noting that it was in the common interest to implement without delay a moratorium on such strikes.

He stressed that civilian populations and their essential needs, as well as the security of energy supplies, must be protected from military escalation, reports Xinhua news agency.

"I have just spoken with the Emir of Qatar and President Trump following the strikes that hit gas production facilities in Iran and Qatar today," the French President said in a post on X.

"It is in our common interest to implement, without delay, a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities. Civilian populations and their essential needs, as well as the security of energy supplies, must be protected from military escalation," he added.

Qatar's interior ministry and state-owned QatarEnergy said on Wednesday that Ras Laffan Industrial City was hit by missile attacks, suffering extensive fires and damage.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli air force struck Iran's major natural gas facility, located in Bushehr in the south of the country. Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that the strike was carried out in coordination with the US administration.

Following the strike, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued an evacuation warning for several oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Meanwhile, earlier on Wednesday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian strongly condemned the US and Israeli attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.

He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X after airstrikes were carried out on parts of the South Pars gas field in southern Iran.

Pezeshkian said such "aggressive acts" will complicate the situation and "could have uncontrollable consequences, the scope of which could engulf the entire world."

In a post on X on the same day, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf condemned attacks, saying they mean "suicide for them (the enemies)."

"The equation of an eye for an eye is in effect, and a new level of confrontation has begun," Ghalibaf said.

Earlier in the day, Iranian state media reported that natural gas facilities associated with the offshore South Pars field had been attacked. Israeli media, citing unnamed sources, said the country's air force carried out the strike.

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the Middle East.

- IANS