Trump tells Israel not to strike Iranian energy again

US President Donald Trump said he told Israel not to repeat attacks on Iran’s natural gas infrastructure, as tit-for-tat attacks on energy facilities have driven up oil prices, sharply escalating the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Energy prices rose after Iran responded to an Israeli attack on a major gas field by striking Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, which processes about one-fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, causing damage that will take years to repair.

The Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia’s main port on the Red Sea, where it was able to divert some exports to prevent Iran from blocking the Gulf’s outlet, was also attacked.

US President Donald Trump said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to repeat the attack on energy infrastructure.

“I told him, ‘Don’t do this,’ and he won’t do it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

A U.S. official and three other people familiar with the planning told Reuters that Trump is considering sending thousands more troops to the Middle East. However, during his meeting with Takaichi, Trump said he did not plan to deploy ground forces.

“I will not station soldiers anywhere,” he said.

Israel’s bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field took place in consultation with the United States but is unlikely to be repeated, three Israeli officials said. Trump said the US was unaware of this.

At a press conference later, Netanyahu said Israel acted alone in bombing the South Pars gas field and confirmed that Trump had asked Israel to stop such attacks.

Iran is being “destroyed” and no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or build ballistic missiles after 20 days of US-Israeli airstrikes, but a revolution in the country would not come from the air and would require a “ground component,” he said, without elaborating.

England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan issued a joint statement stating that “we are ready to contribute to the necessary efforts to ensure safe passage through the Bosphorus.”

They also promised “further steps to stabilize energy markets, including working with certain producing countries to increase production.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated that any contribution to the security of the Bosphorus would only be made after the conflicts ended.

Earlier, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a briefing that American goals in the war, which has killed more than 2,000 people so far, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, “remain unchanged, in its objective and in its plan.”

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a US congressional committee that American and Israeli goals are different.

Gabbard said the Israeli government is focused on eliminating the Iranian leadership.

“The President stated that their goal is to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile launch capability, ballistic missile production capability and navy.”

A US official confirmed on Thursday that the Trump administration has requested US$200 billion ($A282 billion) in additional funds for the war, but the request faces stiff opposition in Congress, which must approve the funds.

The Iranian military said attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure had led to a “new phase of the war” in which US-affiliated energy facilities were attacked.

“If attacks on Iran’s energy facilities occur again, new attacks on your and your allies’ energy infrastructure will not stop until it is completely destroyed,” spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari said, according to state media.

Israeli media reported that Iran caused damage in an attack that hit oil facilities in Israel’s Haifa port, but there was no loss of life.

Since Wednesday, Iranian attacks have forced the UAE to shut down the Habshan gas facility and caused fires at two oil refineries in Kuwait.

Brent crude oil futures rose nearly 3 percent to $110.35, having risen as much as 10 percent before the joint announcement by European countries and Japan.

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