Hawkish US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has expressed concern over Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities.
On Sunday, Graham, a strong supporter of the US and Israel’s war on Iran, wrote on X that Israel had shown “amazing capability when it comes to collapsing the murderous regime in Iran,” adding the US was appreciative.
“However, there will be a day soon that the Iranian people will be in charge of their own fate, not the murderous ayatollah’s regime,” he said.
“In that regard, please be cautious about what targets you select. 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 endeavour.”
Israel struck over 30 oil depots in Iran on Saturday, including in Tehran and Karaj.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on
Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Video footage showed streets on fire near a depot in Tehran, and huge flames engulfing the skies. Iranian authorities said they were monitoring air quality and called on residents to stay home.
As black, oily rain fell on the Iranian capital, which is home to ten million people, residents described waking up with their eyes burning and pain in their throats.
‘Venezuela and Iran have 31 percent of the world’s oil reserves. We’re going to have a partnership’
– US Senator Lindsey Graham
The strikes on depots went far beyond what the US expected when Israel notified it in advance, according to a report in Axios, citing officials with knowledge on the matter.
The report said it was the first significant disagreement between the US and Israel since the war began over a week ago.
An Israeli military official told Axios the strikes were partly intended as a warning to Iran to stop targeting Israeli civilian infrastructure.
But the US military was reportedly surprised at how wide-ranging the onslaught was.
“We don’t think it was a good idea,” a senior US official said.
An adviser to US President Donald Trump told Axios: “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.”
US will make a ‘tonne of money’
Tehran has warned that if such attacks continue, it will respond with similar attacks across the region.
In separate remarks on Sunday, Graham said that the US was going to make a “tonne of money” from the war on Iran.
Tensions soar as Hegseth and Rubio feud over US troops in Iran
“When this regime goes down, we are going to have a new Middle East, and we are going [to] make a tonne of money,” he told Fox News.
“Venezuela and Iran have 31 percent of the world’s oil reserves. We’re going to have a partnership with 31 percent of the known reserves. This is China’s nightmare. This is a good investment,” said Graham.
His remarks suggested that the US abduction of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and the Iran war were linked to gaining control over oil supplies.
Graham said that attacks on Iran would escalate in the coming two weeks, saying the US would “blow the hell out of these people”.
“This regime is in a death throes now, it is gonna be on its knees, it’s going to fall, and when it falls we’re going to have peace like no other time, we’re going to have prosperity unlike anyone could ever imagine,” he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.