Doha, June 22: An explosion ripped through Qatar’s key natural gas export infrastructure injuring at least 54 people while 18 others remain missing, according to official reports.

The blast occurred in the Ras Laffan industrial area on Sunday night, one of the world’s most important energy hubs, during ongoing efforts to resume operations at the facility following earlier disruptions linked to regional conflict.

The incident triggered a major fire at the Barzan gas supply facility, prompting emergency response teams to rush to the site.

State energy giant QatarEnergy confirmed the incident, saying operations were underway to restart parts of the export terminal when the explosion took place. On Sunday night, that work sparked an explosion and fire at the Barzan gas supply facility, according to the company.

The scale of damage remains unclear, but Qatar’s Interior Ministry later confirmed significantly higher casualty figures than initially reported. Authorities said at least 54 people were injured in the explosion, while search operations were ongoing for 18 missing workers hours after the incident.

The Barzan facility is a major component of Qatar’s gas infrastructure, with a production capacity of nearly 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day. The output is primarily used for domestic electricity generation and to power desalination plants that supply water across the arid Gulf state.

Officials said the explosion came as technical teams were attempting to restore operations following earlier disruptions in the region. The Ras Laffan complex had previously been affected during the recent conflict, including reported missile strikes that caused damage and forced partial shutdowns of operations.

The facility is jointly operated by QatarEnergy and international partners, including a minority stake held by energy major ExxonMobil, which has not yet issued a detailed public response.

Ras Laffan has long been considered a strategic backbone of global liquefied natural gas supply, and any prolonged disruption could have implications for international energy markets, particularly in Asia and Europe, which rely heavily on Qatari exports.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion, while emergency and security teams continue search-and-rescue operations at the site. Officials have not yet confirmed whether the blast was accidental or linked to external factors.

The incident follows a period of heightened instability in the region, with previous attacks on energy infrastructure raising concerns about the vulnerability of critical Gulf energy facilities amid broader geopolitical tensions.

Burgenstock (Switzerland), June 22: Negotiations between the United States and Iran continued late into the night in Switzerland on Sunday, with US officials saying discussions remained active and expressing confidence that talks launched by Vice President JD Vance had produced early progress on Iran’s nuclear programme, the Strait of Hormuz and the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon.

“We still anticipate they will continue through the night,” a US official said shortly after 1:14 a.m. local time, when reporters travelling with the Vice President were informed that negotiations remained underway.

The update came hours after Vance said negotiators had already made significant headway during the first day of talks at the Burgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne.

“We’ve already made great progress over just the last few hours, and I expect that we’ll make additional progress in the hours to come,” Vance told reporters before entering the meeting.

According to a statement later provided by a senior US diplomat engaged in the negotiations, the American delegation has been in continuous talks since Vance arrived in Switzerland earlier in the day.

“The Vice President touched down around 6am this morning and our delegation has been engaged in constant meetings and negotiations since then,” the diplomat said.

The official also rejected reports suggesting the Iranian delegation had left the talks.

“Contrary to rampant false reporting, the Iranians are still here and discussions are ongoing. We anticipate continuing to work through the night,” the statement said.

The negotiations have focused on several key issues that have emerged since the preliminary US-Iran agreement earlier this week.

“Topics of discussion have included clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain fully open,” the senior diplomat said.

The talks have also addressed the security situation in Lebanon, where renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has threatened broader regional diplomacy.

“We have also worked through deconfliction mechanisms and enforcing the ceasefire in southern Lebanon,” the diplomat said.

Earlier in the day, Vance said he remained optimistic about efforts to stabilise Lebanon despite ongoing tensions.

“There, of course, are going to be sometimes disagreements about precisely how to get there, but I actually feel great about where we are in Lebanon. There’s still some additional wood to chop, but we’re going to keep on working,” he said.

The senior US diplomat said negotiators had also made progress on the core issue of Iran’s nuclear programme.

“We’ve had robust discussions on all elements of the nuclear deal. We plan to continue working through each of these issues and using today’s work as a starting point for ongoing technical talks going forward,” the statement said.

Washington, June 20: US President Donald Trump said that he expects Iran to agree to a final deal within 60 days of the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

If no deal is reached within 60 days beginning Thursday, “we will do things that won’t make them happy,” Trump said at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday. “But I don’t think it’s going to get to that.”

The text of the MoU states that the two sides commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days, extendable with mutual consent, Xinhua news agency reported.

US-Iran talks scheduled in Switzerland was postponed, with neither side offering an official explanation. Multiple media reports said that Iran withdrew from the talks in response to the latest Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Earlier on Friday, Trump told NBC News that he had spoken with Israeli leaders and urged them to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

“It’s a positive,” Trump said in the phone interview. “It’s a little icing on the cake.”

Meanwhile, the US State Department said that a new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Washington, DC next week.

Earlier, in a statement, Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs stated, “The Planned talks between the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed. Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks. The relevant preparatory work at Burgenstock is continuing. No further information can be provided at present.”

The talks between he US and Iran were planned to move from a political framework agreement to detailed negotiations on implementation, verification and compliance.

On Thursday night, the White House announced that US Vice President JD Vance’s planned departure for technical negotiations with Iran has been postponed. However, it said preparations for the talks continue and both sides remain focused on launching the next phase of discussions aimed at implementing the recently signed memorandum of understanding.

“As the Vice President said at his press conference, the plans for the upcoming technical talks have not been finalised, and the US delegation has been prepared to depart at the first available opportunity,” a White House spokesperson said late Thursday night.