Is U.S.-Iran war ending anytime soon? It may not. Here's why

U.S-Iran war is sending shock waves through the global economy. Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked to as high as $118 a barrel, up more than 60 per cent since Israel and the United States started the war with Iran. This comes after Iran intensified its attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Gulf on Thursday in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian gas field. However, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. would "massively blow up the entirety" of Iran's gas field if it continues. The Pentagon, meanwhile, asked the White House for another $200 billion, a senior administration official said.

Iran's Oil, Energy Tactics

The direct attacks on energy infrastructure mark a major escalation. One think-tank said Israel’s targeting of South Pars, the Iranian part of the world’s largest gas field, sought to pressure its leaders by making living conditions for Iranians intolerable. Iran responded by hitting a Saudi refinery on the Red Sea and setting Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities and two Kuwaiti oil refineries ablaze, AP reported.


Israeli fire hit Iranian targets in the Caspian Sea for the first time on Thursday, while General Dan Caine said U.S. forces were hunting Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz, striking Iranian drones and dropping 5,000-pound penetrator weapons into underground weapon-storage facilities. Caine said American forces struck more than 90 targets on Kharg Island, which is vital to Iran’s oil network.

Pentagon Seeks $200 billion Additional Fund from White House

Pentagon seeks another $200 billion for the Iran war, AP reported. The department sent the request to the White House, according to the senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information.

This $200 billion is an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in Trump’s big tax cuts bill.

Congress is bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. It is unclear whether the spending request would have support.

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm at his news conference that the Pentagon has asked the White House for $200 billion more to fund the Iran war. The White House, meanwhile, did not answer more questions about the funding request.

Hegseth said the amount could change, but “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded.”

It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of $839 billion in the Pentagon budget plus $150 billion in extra funding the Defense Department received last year in Trump’s big tax cuts bill. It would need approval by a Congress that has not authorized the war, and lawmakers are showing growing unease with the military operation’s scope and strategy.