The West Asia war entered a third week as the United States and Israel traded fire with Iran, with attacks on military, diplomatic and increasing attack on Gulf energy sites.
Triggered by the February 28 US-Israeli strikes, the conflict has spread across the region, roiling energy markets and pushing up oil prices as Tehran blockades the Strait of Hormuz, while Israel has intensified attacks on Lebanon with a ground invasion targeting Hezbollah.
TOP DEVELOPMENTS
'Acted alone' in Iran gas field attack: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel had acted unilaterally in striking Iran's massive South Pars gas field. He also denied what he called "fake news" that Israel had dragged the US into war with Iran.
Israel told not to attack Iran gas field: US President Donald Trump said he had told his ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to carry out any more strikes on gas fields in Iran, which retaliated to an earlier attack by hitting Qatari energy sites.
Iran vows 'zero restraint': Iran vowed to hit hard if its energy facilities were attacked again. "ZERO restraint if our infrastructures are struck again," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.
Israel refinery hit: Israeli media reported that an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa was hit, after the military warned of incoming missiles from Iran.
Qatar PM slams gas hub attack: Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warned that Iran's attack on the country's main gas hub risked "significant repercussions for global energy supplies" and was "clear proof" that Iran wasn't only targeting US interests in the war.
No US ground troops: US President Donald Trump said he was not sending ground troops to Iran. "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you. But I'm not putting troops," Trump told reporters as he met Japan's prime minister in Washington.
No 'time frame' for ending Iran war: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday there is no "time frame" for ending the war against Iran. He added that the Pentagon has requested over $200 billion in additional funding from Congress to pay for the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Thursday that he was "seeing cracks" in the Iranian leadership, with the country's new supreme leader yet to make a public appearance.
"I'm not sure who's running Iran right now. Mojtaba the replacement ayatollah has not shown his face. What we see is that there is a lot of tensions inside the people who are edging for the top," Netanyahu said in a televised press conference.
"We're seeing cracks, and we're trying to propagate them as fast as we can, not only in the top command, we're seeing cracks in the field."
Israel has killed one senior Iranian leader after another in airstrikes as it seeks to topple the Islamic Republic. But its past experience of targeting senior militants shows the strategy has limits and can sometimes backfire.
Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The group still fires rockets. It took out Hamas’ top brass. The group still controls half of Gaza and has not laid down its arms.
While such killings may provide tangible achievements that leaders can brand as victories — especially in wars with no clear endgame — they rarely address the underlying grievances that propel conflicts, says Jon Alterman, chair of Global Security and Geostrategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran had been stripped of its ability to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles.
"We are taking action to destroy the industries that make it possible to build missiles. Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium and manufacture ballistic missiles," Netanyahu said at a televised press conference.
"We are winning and Iran is being decimated."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel had acted unilaterally in striking Iran's massive South Pars gas field.
"Israel acted alone against the Asaluyeh gas compound... President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks and we're holding out," Netanyahu said at a televised press conference.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denied what he called "fake news" that Israel had dragged US President Donald Trump into war with Iran.
"Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do?" Netanyahu told journalist at a press conference.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that any Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz would fail.
"The death cult in Iran is trying to blackmail the world by closing a key international maritime route, the Strait of Hormuz. It won't work," Netanyahu said at a televised press conference.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike any more Iranian gas fields, seeking to distance himself from an attack by a key ally that has shaken world energy markets.
Trump insisted on social media overnight that he "knew nothing" about Wednesday's strike by Israel on the South Pars gas field in Iran, which retaliated to the attack by hitting Qatari energy sites.
Asked in the Oval Office whether he had talked to Netanyahu about attacking Iranian gas fields, Trump replied: "I did. I told him, don't do that, and he won't do that.
"You know, we're independent. We get along great. It's coordinated, but on occasion, he'll do something, and if I don't like it...and so we're not doing that anymore."
Trump's comments come despite the fact that US sources said on Wednesday that Washington was aware of the attack, although it had not participated in it.
Israeli media reported that an oil refinery in the northern port city of Haifa was hit on Thursday, after the military warned of incoming missiles launched from Iran.
Israel's Kan 11 public broadcaster aired images on television showing a thick plume of dark smoke rising from the area of the refinery. In a post on X, Kan reported that there were no concerns that hazardous materials had leaked.
The spokesperson for the environmental protection ministry said its director general and emergency response units from the Haifa district were on their way to a scene "following a report regarding the fall of interceptor debris in the Haifa region and a suspected incident involving hazardous materials."
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said there is no "time frame" for ending the US-Israeli war against Iran and added that US President Donald Trump will be the one to decide when to stop.
"We wouldn't want to set a definitive time frame," Hegseth told a news conference, adding that "we're very much on track."
"It will be at the president's choosing, ultimately, where we say, 'Hey, we've achieved what we need to'," he added.
Hegseth also addressed a report that the Pentagon has requested more than $200 billion in additional funding from Congress to pay for the conflict, which was launched by the US and Israel three weeks ago.
The money will have to be approved by Congress.
"As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move. Obviously it takes money to kill bad guys," Hegseth said. "We're going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future," he said.
Iran vowed to hit hard if its energy facilities were attacked again.
"ZERO restraint if our infrastructures are struck again," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.
The military's Khatam Al-Anbiya operational command vowed the "complete destruction" of Gulf energy infrastructure if the Israeli attack was repeated, according to a statement carried by Fars news agency.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE denounced the Iranian attacks. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called them a “dangerous escalation.”
But Iran showed no signs of backing down. Saudi Arabia said its SAMREF refinery in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu was hit. Saudi Arabia had begun pumping large volumes of oil west toward the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar, a key source of natural gas for world markets, said extensive damage was caused by Iranian missiles hitting the Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility, where production had already been halted after earlier attacks. Damage to the facility could delay Qatar's ability to get supplies to the market even after the war ends.
Two oil refineries in Kuwait and gas operations in Abu Dhabi also were targeted by Iran, local authorities said.