No 'definitive time frame' for ending Iran war: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday there was no "time frame" for ending the US-Israeli war against Iran, which was launched three weeks ago.

"We wouldn't want to set a definitive time frame," Hegseth told a news conference, adding that "we're very much on track" and that President Donald Trump will be the one to decide when to stop.

"It will be at the president's choosing, ultimately, where we say, 'Hey, we've achieved what we need to.'"

Hegseth also addressed a report that the Pentagon has requested more than $200 billion in additional funding from Congress to pay for the conflict.

"As far as $200b, I think that number could move. Obviously it takes money to kill bad guys," Hegseth said.

"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," he said.

Top US military officer General Dan Caine, who spoke alongside Hegseth, provided details on weapons being used against Iran and its allied forces in the region.

Caine said A-10 Warthogs, a type of aircraft designed for providing close air support, are "hunting and killing fast-attack watercraft" in the key Strait of Hormuz waterway, which Iran effectively closed to maritime traffic following the start of the war.

He also said AH-64 Apaches are being used in Iraq to target Iran-aligned militia groups there, and that some US allies have begun using the attack helicopters to counter one-way drones launched by Tehran's forces.

Greek-operated air defence system shoots down Iranian missiles over Saudi Arabia

Separately, Greece's ‌defence minister said an air defence system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted two ​ballistic missiles launched from Iran.

Nikos Dendias said a Greek-operated Patriot air defence system had intercepted Iranian missiles targeting oil refineries in Saudi Arabia, ​without specifying where in the kingdom.

"The protection of ​refineries and oil units is of great importance," he ⁠said in a televised statement.

Greece has deployed a ​US-made Patriot air defense battery, operated by Greek personnel, in ​Saudi Arabia since 2021 under an agreement to help protect the kingdom's energy infrastructure.

Thursday's interception was the first time that Greek personnel ​had operated the system, a Greek defence ministry official ​told Reuters.

Other outside states have also offered assistance in defending the ‌Gulf ⁠against Iranian attacks launched in response to US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28.

France has assisted the United Arab Emirates in defending against Iranian attacks, under a ​longstanding defence agreement ​between the ⁠two countries. Australia has also said it would send a surveillance aircraft and missiles ​to help bolster UAE defences.

Earlier on Thursday, ​Saudi Arabia's ⁠defence ministry said that a ballistic missile targeting the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, where there is an oil ⁠refinery, ​had been intercepted.

It was unclear whether ​the missile was one of those intercepted by the Greek-operated system.

Iran calls for regional coordination in calls with Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi called for vigilance and regional coordination in separate ​calls with counterparts in Turkiye, Egypt and Pakistan ‌as the military warned of a tougher response to any further attacks on its energy infrastructure, state media reported on ​Thursday.

After its energy facilities in South Pars gas field ​and Asaluyeh were targeted on Wednesday, Iran retaliated ⁠against what it said were US-linked energy sites ​in Gulf countries, including Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, ​the world’s largest LNG complex.

"In the calls to foreign counterparts, Araghchi assessed the US and Zionist regime's (Israel) attack on Iranian infrastructure ​as an act aimed at escalating tensions and ​destabilising the region, and urged for vigilance and coordination among regional ‌countries ⁠in response to these threats," state media reported on Thursday.

A spokesman for the unified command of Iran's armed forces said recent strikes on the country's energy infrastructure ​led to "a ​new stage ⁠in the war" in which Iran targeted energy facilities linked to the US and ​American investors in the region.

"If strikes (on Iran's ​energy ⁠infrastructure) happen again, further attacks on your energy infrastructure and that of your allies will not stop until ⁠it is ​completely destroyed, and our response ​will be much more severe," Ebrahim Zolfaqari said according to state media.

Iran strikes Gulf energy hubs

Iranian aerial attacks since Wednesday have caused ‌extensive damage to the world's largest gas plant in Qatar, targeted a refinery in Saudi Arabia, forced the UAE to shut gas facilities and set off fires at two Kuwaiti refineries.

Tehran's retaliation against Israeli attacks on its own gas facilities marks a further escalation of the nearly three-week war.

On Thursday, a drone fell on the Aramco-Exxon refinery, SAMREF, the Saudi defence ministry said, adding damage was being assessed. It also intercepted a ballistic missile launched towards Yanbu, the ​port city that is currently Saudi Arabia's only outlet for crude exports and where the refinery is located.

Also on Thursday, one of the operational units at Kuwait Petroleum ​Corporation's Mina al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries was targeted by drones, resulting in fires at both sites, Kuwait's state news agency said.

Qatar's state oil giant ⁠QatarEnergy said on Wednesday that Iranian missile attacks on Ras Laffan, the site of the country's core LNG processing operations, caused "extensive damage", while the UAE shut gas facilities after intercepting missiles ​early on Thursday.

The Iranian attacks, which drew a furious response from US President Donald Trump, came hours after Tehran issued evacuation warnings for several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, following strikes on its ​own energy infrastructure in South Pars and Asaluyeh.