QATAR Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari blamed Israel today for an attack on an offshore natural gas field which his country shares with Iran.

The Iranian side of the field, the South Pars field, came under attack today and was burning.

Mr Ansari called the attack “a dangerous and irresponsible step amid the current military escalation … infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region and its environment.

“We call on all parties to exercise restraint, adhere to international law and work toward de-escalation in a manner that preserves the security and stability of the region.”

His comments came hours after Israel bragged that it had killed another top Iranian official, the third in two days.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib had been killed in an overnight strike and promised “significant surprises are expected throughout this day on all fronts,” without elaborating.

Israel killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force on Tuesday.

Iran nevertheless launched waves of attacks on Israel today, plus targets in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, while Israel said it had pummelled Tehran and continued to attack what it claimed were Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Iran has also vowed to continue its closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia has begun to bypass the Strait by sending some of its oil by pipeline across the country to be shipped from a Red Sea port.

US President Donald Trump voiced mounting frustration that no allies have stepped forward after he asked others to send ships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He used social media on Tuesday to say “we don’t need the help of anyone!”

This followed the resignation earlier in the day of National Counterterrorism Centre director Joe Kent, who claimed Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the US.

Mr Kent suggested the US president had been pressed into starting the war by “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” who “deployed a misinformation campaign” to undermine Mr Trump’s policies and “encourage a war with Iran.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt alleged Mr Kent’s resignation letter contained “many false claims” and said President Trump “had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States.”