Iran-US war latest: Netanyahu says Tehran ‘weaker than ever’ and praises ‘good friend’ Trump

Iran intensified its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf on Thursday, raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy.

The strikes, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian gas field, sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran’s Arab neighbours directly into the conflict.

Iran’s targeting of energy production further stressed global supplies already under pressure because of its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.

Since the US and Israel launched the war on 28 February, Iran’s top leaders have been killed in air strikes and the country’s military capabilities have been severely degraded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Thursday that Iran no longer has the ability to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles.

Still, Iran – now led by the son of the supreme leader killed in the war’s opening salvo – remains capable of missile and drone attacks rattling its Gulf Arab neighbours and a global economy dependent on the energy they produce.

The president is supposed to be a good enough businessman to know when to cut his losses and call it quits – he should go back to making America great again while he has the chance, writes Sean O’Grady.

Benjamin Netanyahu said “Iran’s air defences have been rendered useless, their navy is lying at the bottom of the sea… their air force is nearly destroyed”.

In a press conference this evening, the Israeli leader said he hopes the Iranian people will rise up against the Islamic Republic that has ruled for nearly half a century, but he conceded “it’s too early” to say whether that will happen.

There has been no sign of such an uprising since the war began, after Iranian authorities quelled mass protests in January.

Britain will “step up” defensive support for Gulf states after Iran attacked energy sites across the region in a “serious escalation” of the war, the defence secretary has said.

John Healey told the Press Association that Tehran’s attacks overnight threatened to further destabilise the region as he reiterated the Government’s call for de-escalation.

Following an Israeli strike on its main natural gas field, Iran hit multiple energy sites across the Gulf last night, including a Saudi oil refinery, Qatari gas facilities and two more oil refineries in Kuwait.

Speaking to PA on a visit to Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh, Mr Healey said the UK shared concerns about Iranian attacks.

He said: “They’re a serious escalation. They further destabilise the region and we will step up the defensive support that we can offer to those Gulf states.”

British forces are already deployed to the Middle East, with RAF jets flying defensive sorties against Iranian drones across the Gulf and British air defence systems protecting critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

UK military planners have also joined the US Central Command to help formulate proposals for opening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade route for the world’s oil and gas.

Mr Healey told PA: “We can see the impact here on the cost of living, the price of fuel, so it’s important that we do everything we can with a lot of other countries that need to be involved in trying to reopen those straits.”

He added that the best way of taking the pressure off world oil prices was “to see a de-escalation and an end to the conflict”.

Thune told CNN that the reported amount, which Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Thursday morning was not a final number, would be reviewed by Congress but gave no prediction whether it could pass the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-vote majority.

Netanyahu said: “Israel acted alone against the gas compound”, speaking about the attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field.

He added: “President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we’re holding out.”

Despite the nearly three week war, it was still too soon to tell whether Iranians will take to the streets to try to overthrow their government, Netanyahu said.

“It’s up to the Iranian people to show that, to choose the moment and to rise to the moment,” he said.

Sir Keir Starmer told the Amir of Qatar earlier today that he condemns the Iranian strikes on Qatari energy facilities overnight.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister spoke to the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani this afternoon.

“The prime minister began by condemning the Iranian strikes on Qatari energy facilities overnight.

“He said that such reckless attacks on critical infrastructure risk pushing the region further into crisis and worsening the severe economic impacts being felt globally, including in the UK.

“Discussing the ongoing defensive support the UK is providing to our partners in the region, the prime minister was clear that the UK would continue to stand with Qatar and all our allies in the Gulf.

“The leaders agreed that the immediate priority must be de-escalation and that they would stay in close touch in the coming days and weeks.”