U.S. President Donald Trump again lashed out at military allies for not joining the war on Iran or helping to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, expressing frustration as the Islamic Republic kept up attacks on Gulf energy assets.
An intervention by NATO to open Hormuz — a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows — would be “easy for them to do, with so little risk,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday, denouncing other members of the group as “COWARDS.”
The fight with Iran is “militarily WON,” he said, even as hostilities raged at the end of a third week.
Trump’s comments come as the strait remains effectively shut, as it has since the early days of the war. The blockage has triggered a surge in oil and gas prices, with crude holding onto gains after closing on Thursday at the highest since mid-2022.
Iran pressed ahead with attacks on Gulf Arab states even after Israel signaled it would stop targeting the Islamic Republic’s energy infrastructure, after striking the giant South Pars gas field on Wednesday. That assault prompted Iran to retaliate against the Qatari complex that houses the world’s largest LNG export plant, among other major facilities.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia said they intercepted missiles and drones Friday, while Bahrain reported a fire at a warehouse. Kuwait shut several units at its Al Ahmadi refinery after multiple strikes.
The U.S. is sending three more warships and thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported, the latest indication that a ceasefire isn’t imminent. Trump has consistently said the U.S. has no plans to send ground troops into Iranian territory, but hasn’t ruled it out.
More than 4,200 people have been killed in the war across the region, the bulk in Iran. More than 1,000 have died in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a parallel war with Tehran-backed Hezbollah.
There is a high risk of lasting damage to energy supplies from the war even if fighting ends imminently. Qatar has said almost a fifth of its LNG production has been knocked out for as long as five years, while QatarEnergy said the attacks would cost about $20 billion a year in lost revenue.
The fallout of the war is spreading globally, with fuel, shipping, fertilizer and household costs on the rise. In the United States, gasoline prices have surged, piling pressure on the Trump administration to act just months before midterm elections in November.
Central banks in Europe have pivoted toward potential interest-rate hikes to combat an expected rise in inflation, reversing a cutting cycle.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said his forces would aid U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and that the war would be over sooner than some anticipated — comments that helped calm markets on a day when energy prices had spiked once again.
The U.S. is considering an operation to take over Kharg Island, Iran’s major oil-export site, to pressure the Islamic Republic to reopen the Strait, Axios reported, adding that a decision hasn’t been made. The U.S. struck military sites on Kharg last weekend, but stopped short of targeting oil infrastructure.
For Washington, the costs of the Iran campaign it started alongside Israel on Feb. 28 are becoming clearer.
The Pentagon has 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 U.S. is girding for a protracted conflict, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth downplayed such concerns and said the U.S. was “on plan” with its war goals.
The Trump administration moved ahead with $23 billion in weapons sales to the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan, aiming to bolster those countries’ defenses as they come under attack, according to a State Department spokesperson.
Spain approved a 5 billion-euro ($5.8 billion) support package to help ease the impact of the war.
Iran’s average missile and drone launches were down about 85% as of Thursday from their March 1 peak, Bloomberg Intelligence analysis shows. Gulf states led by the UAE have borne the brunt of Iranian attacks.
Iran has curbed retaliatory strikes on regional energy sites in response to calls for de-escalation, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, while warning Tehran would show “ZERO restraint” if its oil and gas infrastructure is hit again.
Brent crude rose to about $109 a barrel heading into the weekend. Equity markets declined and gold was on track for its worst weekly drop since the onset of the pandemic.
Iran accounts for more than three quarters of the war’s fatalities. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is waging a parallel war against Iran-aligned Hezbollah militants. Dozens of others have been killed across the Middle East, while the U.S. has lost 13 military personnel and at least 16 military planes and drones.
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(With assistance from Shadab Nazmi.)
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