JERUSALEM, March 19 (Reuters) - Israel's attack on an Iranian gas field on Wednesday was coordinated with the United States but will likely not be repeated, three Israeli officials said on Thursday, despite U.S. President Donald Trump saying he knew nothing about it.

The attack on Iran's South Pars gas field drew an Iranian aerial assault on energy infrastructure in Qatar and across the Middle East, marking the biggest escalation in the nearly three-week U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Six major international powers said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to" ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though three stressed that any initiative would take place post-ceasefire.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz".

LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Leading nations in Europe said in a joint statement with Japan on Thursday they would take steps to stabilise energy markets and were ready to join "appropriate efforts" to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The statement from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan, condemned attacks by Iran and called on it to halt its actions immediately. It also said they would work with certain energy producing nations to increase output and stabilise markets.

PARIS, March 19 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed on Thursday the need to reduce tensions in the Middle East, they said on their respective X accounts, after Iran attacked energy infrastructure in the region following Israeli and U.S. attacks.

"India and France are working closely together to reduce tensions in the region and to keep diplomacy at the heart of our efforts for peace," Macron wrote on X, in response to earlier message posted by Modi.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta;Editing by Inti Landauro)

MADRID, March 19 (Reuters) - Spain will delay the presentation of its annual budget, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday, as the cabinet puts together a package of emergency measures to counter the economic impact of the Iran war.

These measures - due to be announced on Friday - will focus on cushioning the blow from rising fuel and electricity prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices have risen by more than 60% since the U.S. and Israel started attacking Iran on February 28.

The head of US intelligence declined again Thursday to endorse President Donald Trump's claim that Iran posed an "imminent" threat before the United States and Israel launched military strikes.

Testifying on the war in the Middle East before the House Intelligence Committee, Tulsi Gabbard doubled down on her claim from a day earlier that this determination is "the responsibility of the president" -- a position that had already drawn sharp pushback from Democrats.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington might lift sanctions on Iranian oil that is already being shipped, as energy prices soar due to the war in the Middle East.

The deliberation comes as Washington scrambles to ease high energy costs that have been filtering down to US consumers, although a Trump administration official added that "oil and gas export restrictions are not under consideration."

By Jaidaa Taha, Yousef Saba, Jana Choukeir and Yomna Ehab

March 19 (Reuters) - European gas prices surged 28% and oil gained 6% on Thursday after Iran attacked energy infrastructure in the Middle East in retaliation against Israeli attacks on it gas facilities, marking the biggest escalation of the nearly three-week war.

The Iranian aerial attacks caused extensive damage to the world's largest gas plant in Qatar, targeted a refinery in Saudi Arabia, forced the United Arab Emirates to shut gas facilities and started fires at two Kuwaiti refineries.

MOSCOW, March 19 (Reuters) - A senior Russian official called on Thursday for the creation of a safety zone around Iran's Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant to prevent a major disaster, two days after a projectile struck within several hundred metres of its reactor.

Alexei Likhachev, head of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said there were 72 tons of fissile material and 210 tons of spent nuclear fuel at the site, and that any strike on it could lead to a catastrophe.

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that the United States' objectives in the war against Iran have not changed since strikes started on February 28.

The United States has carried out strikes against 7,000 targets inside Iran so far, and hit more than 40 Iranian mine-laying vessels and 11 submarines, according to the Pentagon.

"Our objectives, given directly from our America-first president, remain exactly what they were on day one," Hegseth told reporters.