Donald Trump is furious after Israel targeted Iran‘s oil depots in a blitz that shocked the White House amid soaring oil prices.
A planned summit between the US and Israel was scrapped on Monday in the first open disagreement between the allies since the war broke out.
Thirty Iranian fuel depots were obliterated over the weekend, with apocalyptic images showing fires leaping into the sky, vast columns of smoke and black oily rain.
White House officials were stunned by the scale of Israel’s bombardment and concerned that images of burning oil would anger Americans facing increased gas prices – up to $3.4 per gallon on average compared to $2.9 before the war started.
‘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,’ a Trump adviser said to Axios.
An Israeli official said the message from the US was stark: ‘What the f***’.
The pressure campaign against Iranian oil reserves continued as the US Navy attacked three regime ships in the Persian Gulf on Monday, with G7 leaders discussing the release of emergency fuel reserves to quell market fears.
Trump’s two-week war with Iran led to oil prices spiking near $120 per barrel before falling back on Monday morning to $103. The Wall Street Journal noted that the war is on the verge of sparking one worst global energy crisis since the 1970s.
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