Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that the US and Israel have different goals in the war with Iran. 

On Tuesday, Hegseth was asked about a report that the White House was unhappy with Tel Aviv over strikes on Iranian oil storage facilities. “I would just state by saying Israel’s been a really strong partner in this effort,” He explained. “Where they have different objectives, they’ve pursued them. Ultimately, we’ve stayed focused on ours.”

Over the weekend, Israel bombed and set fire to about three dozen oil sites in Iran. The fires caused toxic rain in Tehran. According to Axios, the White House was angered by the strikes. Washington fears that destroying Iran’s energy infrastructure will strengthen the average Iranians’ support for their government. Trump hopes to impose regime change in Tehran and help select the next Iranian leader. 

Additionally, Washington is concerned that strikes on Iranian oil facilities will drive up global oil prices. While Trump has said he is unconcerned about the price of oil and believes it will drop once the war ends, the price of gas for Americans has jumped by over $0.50 since the US conflict. 

Rising prices at the pump will likely hurt Republicans during November’s midterm elections. 

The war started with a joint US-Israel surprise attack on Iran at the end of February. Congress did not declare war or otherwise give the White House authorization to wage war against Iran. 

The Trump administration has made several allegations that Iran presented an offensive threat to the US. However, those claims have been debunked. Iran lacks missiles that could hit the US, and Trump says Tehran’s nuclear program was destroyed during the war in June. 

Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio argued that Trump had to attack Iran because Israel was about to launch a unilateral strike, and Tehran would have responded by targeting American bases in the Middle East.