US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Israel’s strikes on oil facilities across Iran were “not our objective,” while answering a question in a Pentagon press conference on Tuesday.
“Israel’s been a really strong partner in this effort…where they have had different objectives, they’ve perused them,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately we stayed focused on ours.”
The secretary of defense said the strikes on Iran’s fuel depots “weren’t our strikes…and that was not necessarily our objective.”
Axios reported on Monday that Israel’s Saturday strikes on some 30 fuel depots in Iran surprised US officials, despite being notified in advance about the targets.
Hegseth said earlier in the press conference that Tuesday would be the most intense day of strikes against Iran in the campaign so far. Speaking with reporters, Hegseth said Tuesday would bring the most fighter jets and bombers against Iran.
Tobias Holcman and Reuters contributed to this report.