The US has tried to distance itself from Israel’s weekend airstrikes on oil infrastructure in Iran, which turned the skies over Tehran black and poured toxic rain mixed with oil on the city.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was asked about reports of US discontent over the Israeli strikes and insisted the US and Israel have different “objectives” in the war despite launching it together and the US military’s significant role in defending Israel from Iranian counterattacks.
“Well, I would just start by saying Israel’s been a really strong partner in this effort. Where they have different objectives, they’ve pursued them. Ultimately, we’ve stayed focused on ours,” Hegseth said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
“But what Iran has felt is the power of the world’s two most powerful air forces. In that particular case, that wasn’t our strikes or that objective, or that wasn’t necessarily our objective,” Hegseth added.
Later on Tuesday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid, a former Israeli intelligence officer, reported that the US had asked Israel to refrain from further strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for several reasons, including concerns that it could lead to major Iranian attacks on oil infrastructure in Gulf Arab states and raise the price of oil.
The report said that the US also hoped to “cooperate” with Iran’s oil industry after the war, similar to what it has done in Venezuela, but that objective is very unlikely as the Iranian government remains intact and is vowing to fight a long war. Sources also told Ravid that the US was concerned that the strikes on oil infrastructure hurt the Iranian public, though the bombing campaign has already killed more than 1,200 civilians.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the biggest supporters of the war, also warned Israel against targeting oil infrastructure in a post on X. “Our goal is to liberate the Iranian people in a fashion that does not cripple their chance to start a new and better life when this regime collapses. The oil economy of Iran will be essential to that endeavor,” he said.
