Washington's request
The Trump administration on Monday asked Israel to refrain from carrying out additional strikes on Iranian energy facilities, with particular emphasis on oil infrastructure, according to Axios, which cited three sources familiar with the matter.
Context and timing
Officials described the intervention as the first time the U.S. has sought to curb Israeli military operations since the two countries began a coordinated campaign against Iran ten days earlier. The request was delivered both at senior political levels in Washington and directly to Israeli military leadership - including IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, an Israeli official said.
Impact on Tehran and civilians
Israeli strikes have reportedly blanketed Tehran - a city of about 10 million people - in toxic black smoke and acid rain, prompting urgent health warnings for Iranian civilians. Those conditions were cited in U.S. communications as part of the rationale for urging Israel to avoid further attacks on energy sites.
Three reasons cited by U.S. officials
- Strikes on energy infrastructure would harm the Iranian public, much of which opposes the regime, according to U.S. officials.
- The administration said it seeks to work with Iran's oil sector after the conflict ends, mirroring its approach with Venezuela, and that damaging facilities would complicate post-war cooperation.
- U.S. officials warned such strikes could provoke large-scale Iranian retaliatory attacks on energy infrastructure across Gulf states, a development Washington wants to avoid.
Previous assaults and U.S. concerns
Earlier in the conflict, Iran launched drone attacks against Gulf energy facilities but did not inflict significant or irreversible damage, the sources said. U.S. officials expressed concern that a fresh round of strikes targeting Iranian oil sites could alter that calculation and push energy prices higher.
Reporting is based on information provided to Axios by three sources and statements from an Israeli official; details reflect those accounts.