Netanyahu Says Won’t Strike Energy Infra After Trump Pushback

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to hold off further attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure following an intervention from US President Donald Trump, marking the first visible sign of divergence in the US-Israel approach to the conflict.

“At the request of President Trump, Israel will hold off on any further attacks on the offshore gas field,” Netanyahu said, hours after Trump disclosed that he had urged restraint.

 “I told him, ‘Don’t do that’, and he won’t do that,” Trump said in a March 19 briefing.

The exchange comes against the backdrop of a rapidly escalating conflict that has begun to spill into global energy markets. Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field triggered retaliatory attacks on Gulf infrastructure, including Qatar’s Ras Laffan complex, pushing oil prices higher and expanding the scope of disruption beyond military targets.

Trump’s intervention reflects growing concern in Washington over the economic spillovers of the conflict. While the US continues to support pressure on Iran’s military capabilities, it appears increasingly wary of actions that could destabilise energy markets and amplify global inflation risks.

This marks a subtle but important shift. Israel’s recent actions suggest a willingness to extend the conflict into Iran’s economic backbone, while the US is attempting to contain the second-order effects of such escalation. The divergence is not yet a rupture, but it introduces a difference in sequencing and priorities.

For now, coordination between the two allies remains intact. But the need for course correction on energy targets indicates that the conflict is no longer operating under a fully aligned strategic framework, with global market implications beginning to shape military choices.