A new wave of Israeli strikes hit Tehran late Saturday, targeting an oil storage facility in the Iranian capital as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised "many surprises" for the next phase of the week-old conflict.
The strikes marked what appeared to be the first time a civilian industrial facility has been targeted in the war. Iranian state media confirmed the attack on the oil facility, which supplies Tehran and neighboring provinces in the north. Israel's military confirmed new strikes that shook neighborhoods in Tehran's east and south but did not comment on specific targets.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative leaders and supporters of Israel's military campaign argue that targeting Iran's energy infrastructure is a necessary component of degrading Tehran's ability to fund militant proxies and continue its missile attacks. Republicans have largely backed Trump's aggressive stance toward Iran, with many praising his refusal to rule out further escalation.
Hard-line Iranian judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, a member of the three-man leadership council overseeing Iran since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the war's opening airstrikes, indicated that the war strategy would not change. "Intense attacks on these targets will continue," he posted on X.
Former Revolutionary Guard general and Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf defended the continuation of attacks, stating: "As long as the presence of U.S. bases in the region continue, the countries will not enjoy peace." Republicans in Congress have largely supported the administration's position that Iran must be neutralized as a regional threat.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive critics and some diplomatic analysts are expressing concern over the escalation of targeting civilian infrastructure, warning that such strikes could undermine potential paths to de-escalation. Democratic lawmakers have called for Congress to exercise oversight of the conflict, with some advocating for conditions on military support to Israel.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking in what appeared to be a hastily recorded message, apologized for attacks on neighboring countries and acknowledged that the leadership council had directed armed forces to cease strikes on neighboring nations unless Iran itself is attacked. "I think we should solve this through diplomacy," Pezeshkian said, responding to U.S. President Trump's call for Tehran to surrender unconditionally.
Human rights advocates have raised alarms about the civilian death toll, which includes at least 1,230 people in Iran and more than 290 in Lebanon. Progressives have also pointed to the six U.S. troops killed in the conflict as a reason to reevaluate American involvement.
What the Numbers Show
The conflict has resulted in significant casualties across multiple countries. At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran, more than 290 in Lebanon, and 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed since the conflict began.
The strikes on Tehran's oil facility represent a strategic escalation, marking the first targeting of civilian industrial infrastructure. The facility supplies Tehran and neighboring provinces in the north.
In the Gulf region, four people have been killed in the United Arab Emirates since the war began, all foreign nationals. Saudi Arabia destroyed drones headed toward its vast Shaybah oil field and shot down a ballistic missile launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces.
The conflict has rattled global markets, and Iran's leadership has been weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes, according to U.S. assessments.
The Bottom Line
The targeting of a civilian oil facility in Tehran marks a significant escalation in the week-old conflict, with Israel signaling that more intensive operations lie ahead. The war has created diplomatic friction between the United States and Gulf allies, who say they were not given adequate warning about American strikes.
Iran's internal divisions between those seeking de-escalation and hard-liners committed to continued confrontation could complicate any diplomatic resolution. The leadership council has requested arrangements to convene the Assembly of Experts to choose a new supreme leader, though no timeline has been given.
The conflict's spread — including a missile strike on the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad — risks drawing in additional actors. With both sides dug into maximalist positions, the war appears poised to intensify rather than resolve in the near term.