Israel Says It Will Spare Iran Energy Sites

Israel said it will no longer target energy infrastructure after an attack on an Iranian gas field sparked retaliatory strikes against energy assets across the Middle East, causing oil and gas prices to surge and prompting a rebuke from President Donald Trump.

“Israel acted alone,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference on Thursday, after Israeli officials previously said they had informed the US about the attack.

Netanyahu also said Israeli forces would help the US attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and that the war would be over faster than people think, in comments that helped calm markets on a day that already-elevated energy prices spiked once again.

“I told him, ‘don’t do that.’ And he won’t do that,” Trump said Thursday at the White House, referring to Netanyahu. “We get along great. It’s coordinated. But on occasion, he’ll do something, and if I don’t like it, then – so we’re not doing that.”

The sharp escalation, with the bombing of more energy facilities from both sides, threatened to draw in both Gulf and European powers and exposed tensions between the US and Israel as the war drags on.

For Washington, the costs of the Iran campaign it launched alongside Israel were becoming clearer as the war neared the end of its third week. On Thursday, Iran said its air defense “seriously damaged” a US F-35 stealth fighter, with US Central Command saying one of the warplanes made an emergency landing and the pilot was in stable condition. 

The Pentagon also asked Congress for an additional $200 billion to pay for the war, a person familiar with the matter said. The enormous funding request suggested the US was girding for a protracted conflict, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth downplayed concerns and said the US was “on plan” with its war goals.

Yet it’s not clear whether the Defense Department can persuade the sharply divided US Congress to provide the money. The sum is far larger than the estimated $65 billion the US has spent in security assistance to Ukraine since 2022 and suggests that the administration sees a long campaign ahead against Iran. Democrats criticized the plan and Republicans were noncommittal.

“If there is any hope to get my vote, they have to come forward with a plan,” Senator Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat told Bloomberg Television on Thursday evening. “They haven’t come through with what an end goal looks like, or what victory looks like.”

Oil dropped from its highest close since July 2022 after Trump and Netanyahu sought to reassure investors rattled by the damage to major Persian Gulf energy facilities. Brent crude fell toward $105 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate for May was around $93.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed in a post on X to show “ZERO restraint” if the country’s energy infrastructure was hit again.

As part of the barrage, Saudi Arabia said a drone hit its Samref refinery on the Red Sea, a vital exit route for the world’s biggest oil exporter, while the kingdom said it also shot down ballistic missiles fired toward the capital, Riyadh.

Qatar reported “extensive damage” at the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export plant, with QatarEnergy saying the attacks would cost about $20 billion a year in lost revenue and would take as long as five years to repair.

The UAE shut a major gas facility because of falling debris from missiles. Two oil refineries in Kuwait were struck by drones that caused fires, according to Kuwait Petroleum Corp. Iraq also reported a loss of power generation after Iran halted gas supplies from South Pars in the wake of the Israeli attack. 

The latest attacks increased the potential for other countries to join the conflict. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud warned overnight that the kingdom’s restraint isn’t “unlimited,” and warned it could take military action.

“It could be a day, two days, or a week,” he told reporters in Riyadh, adding the relationship between the kingdom and Tehran has “completely shattered.” 

The Trump administration on Thursday moved ahead with $23 billion in weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan, aiming to bolster those countries as they come under attack from Iran, according to a State Department spokesperson.

Now in its 20th day, the war has claimed more than 4,100 lives across the region, with about three quarters of them in Iran. Dozens have been killed across the Middle East, while the US has lost 13 military personnel and numerous aircraft.

The risk of lasting damage to energy infrastructure and supply is increasing. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and LNG flows – have so far been unsuccessful. 

Trump temporarily waived a century-old shipping mandate to lower the cost of transporting energy goods around the US in a bid to curb price rises.