US' 'WTF' Response to Israel Strikes on Iran Oil Facilities Signals Disagreement

In what became the first major disagreement between allies United States and Israel, since the war with Iran broke out on February 28, Washington responded in surprise to Israeli strikes on Iranian oil storage facilities over the weekend, triggering massive fires and killing four people.

When Tel Aviv informed Washington about the strikes, claiming the facilities were used by Iran to fuel missile launches, the US thought it went ‘far beyond what the US expected’, reported Axios, citing an American official who said that the US military was surprised by the ‘wide-ranging’ strikes, stating, ‘We don’t think it was a good idea’.

The message from Washington was ‘WTF’, an Israeli official was quoted as saying. The White House and the Israel Defence Force are yet to comment on it.

Notably, as many as three oil depots and a refinery near Iran’s capital, Tehran, were targeted by the Israeli forces, which led to apocalypse-like scenes in the city. Visuals emerging from the ground showed an uncontrolled inferno blazing rapidly across affected regions, with thick black clouds of toxic smoke cloaking the vicinity.

CRAZY FOOTAGE 🔴

Apocalyptic scenes coming out of Tehran right now pic.twitter.com/VVejLZfaVq

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 7, 2026

A local said that a ‘river of fire’ flowed through the streets as the flames caught on to leaking fuel from one of the depots targeted in the strikes. People were warned to stay indoors amid reports of acid rain after the incident, as blackened rain, mixed with oil and soot, fell.

While the humanitarian and environmental damages caused by the Israeli strike signal a terrifying escalation in the war, according to military observers, the economic factor also emerges.

A day after the incident, oil prices, which were already under pressure since the war broke out and Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, shot up to go past the USD 100 per barrel red line for the first time in four years.

A barrel of Brent crude, which is the international standard, stood at USD 107.97 on Monday when trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 16.5 per cent from its closing price of USD 92.69 on Friday. Meanwhile, the light and sweet West Texas Intermediate crude, which is produced in the US, sold at USD 106.22 per barrel, 16.9 per cent higher than its last week’s closing price.

A potential strategic blunder by Israel in targeting the oil depots sparked the US’ concern over the incident. Apart from driving up oil prices in an already stretched market, the incident could also lead to Iranian citizens now backing Trump to rally against the US and Israel.

"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," Axios quoted a Trump advisor as saying.

Enraged by the attack, Iran warned that further strikes targeting its oil infrastructure could lead to a similar scale of response. An Iranian military spokesperson said that Tehran did not launch such attacks targeting energy infrastructure so far, but it could change and lead to oil prices touching the USD 200 per barrel mark.

Notably, Iran had launched drone strikes at one of the largest of its kind oil refineries in Saudi Arabia last week, forcing Saudi Aramco to halt operations at Ras Tanura, a 5,50,000-barrel-a-day refinery and export hub.