The United States and Israel are reportedly in their first major disagreement since launching joint strikes against Iran on February 28, with Washington expressing concern over the scale of recent Israeli strikes on 30 oil depots in Tehran.
The strikes carried out by Israel on Saturday “went far beyond what Washington expected when Israel gave it advance notice of its plans,” Axios reported, citing both US and Israeli officials, as well as a source familiar with the matter.
“Trump doesn’t like it”
While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) informed the US of its plans to strike oil depots in Iran, a US official quoted in the report said the US military was surprised by the scale of the attacks.
“We don’t think it was a good idea,” a senior US official said, although the IDF said the affected fuel depots were “used by the Iranian regime to supply fuel to various consumers including its military authorities.”
An Israeli official confirmed US displeasure, saying the message from the Trump administration to Tel Aviv was “WTF.”
US officials worry that Israeli strikes on energy or other critical infrastructure serving ordinary Iranians could backfire strategically and boost support for the current regime, in addition to spooking oil markets and pushing oil prices further up.
Trump is also said to be unhappy with the Israeli strikes — “The president doesn’t like the attack. He wants to save the oil. He doesn’t want to burn it. And it reminds people of higher gas prices,” a presidential aide was quoted as saying by Axios.
Massive attacks on Tehran
Israel said on Saturday it had hit 30 oil depots in Tehran, with the massive attack sparking widespread fires in the Iranian capital and blanketing the city in thick smoke.
Footage from Tehran showing massive fires has gone viral following Saturday’s attacks, sparking horror among many online.
In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have struck Israel’s largest refinery in Haifa, while Tehran warned it could respond with similar strikes across the region if attacks on its oil infrastructure continued.
what’s next
While neither Washington nor Tel Aviv have yet commented on the reported disagreement, a US official told Axios that both the issue and the Trump administration’s larger expectations in the war are expected to be addressed at high political levels.
