Updated March 19, 2026 at 1:34 PM AKDT
The Pentagon is seeking about $200 billion in additional funds after nearly three weeks of war with Iran.
Overnight, Iran attacked the world's biggest liquefied natural gas complex in Qatar, targeted a gas field and facility in the United Arab Emirates, fired missiles and launched drones on a Saudi Arabian oil refinery and on two Kuwaiti gas units on Thursday, following Israel's bombing of Iran's South Pars gas field a day earlier.
The attacks marked a major escalation as the war with Iran approached its third week. The strikes sent shockwaves across the global energy market, which was already reeling from the consequences of Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit of the world's oil supply.
Here are further updates from the conflict.
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War funds | Qatar | U.S.-Japan | Gulf nations | Trump on Israel striking Iran gas
The Pentagon wants another $200 billion
The Pentagon is requesting an extra-large spending budget, an additional $200 billion, to fund and resupply U.S. defenses as the war with Iran grinds through Day 20.
"We're asking for a lot of reasons, beyond even what we're talking about in Iran, when this is a very volatile world," President Trump said Thursday in response to a reporter's question about the request.
The sum was first reported by The Washington Post. The White House would review the request before submitting it to Congress for approval.
Asked about the report, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not dispute it but said that figure could change.
"As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move," Hegseth said. "It takes money to kill bad guys."
The U.S. military said Wednesday it has hit than 7,800 targets across Iran and damaged or sunk more than 120 of the country's navy ships since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.
The U.S. spent an estimated $16.5 billion in the first 12 days of the war, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"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, ensure that our ammunition is, everything's refilled and not just refilled, but above and beyond," Hegseth said.
During a news conference, Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also paid tribute to the six service members who died in a refueling plane crash in Iraq last week. The Pentagon has identified 13 U.S. service members killed during the war.
Qatar says its gas facilities suffered extensive damage
QatarEnergy said Thursday its Ras Laffan gas-to-liquid facility suffered extensive damage from the Iranian strikes a day earlier.
Authorities said several of Qatar's liquefied natural gas facilities came under missile attack again early Thursday, setting them ablaze and causing further damage.
Qatar, one of the world's biggest producers of liquefied natural gas, has had to halt all gas production due to Iranian counterattacks in the war, disrupting global supplies and the production of fertilizer already.
Qatar expelled Iranian military attaches in response to the Iranian attacks. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Qatar condemned Iran's attack on its assets as "a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of state sovereignty, and a direct threat to its national security and regional stability."
Japan's prime minister visits the White House under shadow of Iran war
President Trump gave a warm greeting to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House Thursday but called on Japan and other countries to "step up" their support in the war with Iran.
She is the first U.S. ally to visit the White House since Trump asked countries for help in sending ships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been brought to a near halt as Iran has struck and threatened commercial vessels trying to pass.
Japan has come under pressure to both please the U.S., its only treaty ally, while working within tough legal and political constraints.
"I expect Japan to step up, because we have that kind of relationship," Trump told reporters alongside Takaichi, saying the U.S. has soldiers and spends a lot of money on Japan. "In the case of Japan, I hear they get more than 90% of their oil through the strait, so that's a great reason to step up."
Takaichi said "Iran's development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed," as PBS News reported. And she said she brought a proposal for how to "calm down" the global energy markets.
On Wednesday Takaichi told lawmakers in Tokyo she would explain in her White House visit why Japan could not send warships right now because of the country's laws.
Japan's unique legal system determines what the country can and cannot do when it comes to international disputes. Its constitution renounces the right to wage war as a means of settling such disputes.
In 2015, Japan passed security legislation reinterpreting the constitution and allowing it to deploy the military for collective self-defense in case of an attack on Japan or an ally, which could result in a "survival-threatening situation."
Takaichi has carefully declined to make any judgment on the legality of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. Any judgment that the attack was preemptive or unprovoked could undermine the logic of deploying Japan's military, known as the Self-Defense Forces.
Gas infrastructure targeted in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said the country's Habshan gas facility and Bab field came under attack from Iran overnight. Authorities said the missiles against those sites were intercepted, but due to falling debris, the gas facilities have been shut down.
In its condemnation of the attacks, UAE's Foreign Ministry said it "reserved its full right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and national security, and to safeguard its national interests."
Kuwait News Agency also reported drone attacks, confirmed by Kuwait Petroleum Corp., on two units in Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries, among the largest in the Middle East, on Thursday morning.
The Saudi Defense Ministry reported Thursday that a drone crashed in the Samref oil refinery, one of the leading in the region, in the country's east. Authorities said they were assessing the damage.
"What little trust there was has completely been shattered, has been shattered on multiple levels," Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday.
The strikes on gas and oil facilities in the Gulf countries followed Israel's attack on Iran's South Pars gas field on Wednesday. Qatar said Israel's attack targeted the Iranian side of the underwater gas field that the two countries share.
Prior to the Iranian attack on the Gulf countries, Qatar's officials condemned Israel's strike against Iranian gas fields as "a dangerous and irresponsible step."
"Targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region and its environment," Majed Al-Ansari, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on X.
Trump: U.S. "knew nothing about" Israel's strike on Iran's gas field
President Trump said late Wednesday that Israel acted alone when it struck the gas field in Iran. In a Truth Social post, he wrote:
"Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as the South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen."
Trump said that Israel would not attack Iran's South Pars facilities again. But he threatened Iran to halt its attacks on Qatar's gas infrastructure or face severe U.S. strikes on South Pars.
"The United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entire South Pars Gas Field at an amount and strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Aya Batrawy contributed to this story from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Anthony Kuhn from Seoul, and Quil Lawrence, Tina Kraja and Alex Leff contributed to this report from Washington.
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