'$200bn tip of iceberg': Iran mocks US over rising war bill, warns Americans of 'Israel First tax'

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi mocked the Pentagon demand's for addtional $200 billion in budget for Iran war, saying the amount was only a tip of the iceberg.Araghchi said Americans can thank Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and "his lackeys in Congress" for the trillion-dollar "Israel First tax" that's about to hit US economy. "We're only three weeks into this war of choice, imposed on both Iranians and Americans. This $200b is the tip of the iceberg. Ordinary Americans can thank Benjamin Netanyahu and his lackeys in Congress for the trillion-dollar "Israel First tax" that's about to hit US economy," he wrote on X citing a news report.

The war in the West Asia took a dangerous turn as Iranian strikes caused extensive damage to Qatar’s main gas hub at Ras Laffan Industrial City, raising fresh fears over global energy supplies as the Middle East conflict intensifies.

State-run QatarEnergy said multiple waves of attacks triggered “sizeable fires” and significant damage to liquefied natural gas facilities, though authorities later confirmed the fires were contained and no injuries reported.The escalation comes amid tit-for-tat strikes involving Iran, Israel and the United States, with Donald Trump warning Tehran against further attacks. Oil prices jumped more than 5 percent on supply concerns, reflecting market anxiety over disruptions in a region critical to global energy flows.

US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that the strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field was carried out by Israel, adding that neither the United States nor Qatar had any involvement.In a social media post, Trump said Israel had targeted a section of the major gas facility “out of anger” over developments in the Middle East, stressing that Washington had no prior knowledge of the attack and that Qatar was “in no way” involved.While cautioning that he did not want to authorise such large-scale destruction due to its long-term consequences, Trump said the US would act decisively if Qatar’s LNG assets were attacked again."Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as 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," wrote Trump.