US-Israel rift emerges after strikes on Iranian fuel depots

Israeli strikes targeting fuel storage facilities in Iran have triggered the first major disagreement between Washington and Tel Aviv since the war began eight days ago, according to the US news site Axios.

The outlet reported that Israeli attacks on around 30 energy storage sites on Saturday went far beyond what the US  expected when Israel informed Washington in advance of its plans to strike those facilities.

Citing a US official, an Israeli official and a source familiar with the matter, Axios said the scale of the operation sparked "the first significant disagreement between the allies since the war began eight days ago".

The dispute stems from US concerns that targeting infrastructure serving Iranian civilians could backfire strategically, potentially rallying Iranian society around the government while also pushing global oil prices higher.

Israel launched several strikes overnight on oil facilities in Tehran province and the nearby city of Karaj, causing large fires after fuel leaked into the streets and numerous vehicles caught fire.

Columns of flames and smoke rose into the sky over the capital for hours, while the Shahran oil depot in north-west Tehran remained ablaze until Sunday morning. Thick black smoke spread across much of the city.

According to Axios, Israeli and US officials said the Israeli military informed the US military ahead of carrying out the air strikes. However, Washington was surprised by the breadth of the attacks.

"We don’t think it was a good idea", a senior US official told the outlet.

An Israeli official said the American reaction to the strikes was blunt, describing Washington’s message as: "WTF".

Iranian officials, meanwhile, warned that continued attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure could trigger retaliation across the region.

Ibrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said Sunday that "if attacks on Iranian infrastructure are not stopped, similar measures will be taken".

He said Iran’s armed forces possess broad intelligence oversight and offensive capabilities and are familiar with "all fuel, energy and public service infrastructure in the region".

Despite that, he said Tehran had so far refrained from taking similar steps "out of consideration for the interests of Muslim peoples in regional countries".

Zolfaghari called on governments of Islamic countries to "move quickly to deter the United States and the Zionist entity from these cowardly and inhumane actions so that the war does not expand", according to Iranian television.

He warned that continued strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure could have major consequences for global oil markets.

"If these attacks continue, similar measures will be taken in the region, and then the world will have to bear the consequences of oil prices rising to more than $200 per barrel," he said.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also warned that Tehran would retaliate if such attacks continue, saying Iran would respond “without delay”.

On the Israeli side, Energy Minister Eli Cohen suggested the campaign against Iran’s energy infrastructure could intensify.

In an interview with the Israeli radio station 103 FM, he said there was "also the possibility of targeting oil refineries and power stations".

"There are a range of other targets," Cohen said, adding that "all targets are on the table" and warning of further escalation in the coming days.

A US official told Axios that the disagreement between Washington and Tel Aviv over the strikes is expected to be addressed at senior political levels as the war continues.