Trump’s announcement came after markets reacted to escalating attacks on energy assets, news agencies reported.
Iran responded to an Israeli strike on a major gas field by targeting Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, a key hub for liquefied natural gas (LNG), causing damage that could take years to repair, according to the Reuters news agency.
Reuters said Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea port, used to reroute exports amid Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, was also hit.
Trump, who has recently pressed allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz—a route for roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil—said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to target energy infrastructure.
“I told him, 'Don’t do that,' and he won’t do that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Netanyahu said at a news conference that Israel had acted alone in striking Iran’s South Pars gas field and confirmed that Trump had asked Israel to refrain from further attacks on energy infrastructure, Reuters reported.
He insisted Iran had been severely weakened by nearly three weeks of US-Israeli air strikes, but said that any political change in Tehran would require more than aerial operations, suggesting a "ground component," according to Reuters.
Earlier in the day, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Washington's objectives in the conflict remained unchanged.
The Trump administration is seeking an additional USD 200 billion in funding for the war, though the request faces opposition in Congress, multiple news outlets reported.
Meanwhile, European Union leaders meeting in Brussels discussed ways to mitigate rising energy costs for businesses and consumers amid the deepening Middle East conflict.
(gs)
Source: Reuters, IAR, PAP