US asks Israel to stop strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure

The United States has asked Israel to halt strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, Axios reports, citing three sources familiar with the matter, marking the first time the US has reined in its ally since they went to war 11 days ago.

Washington sent the message at a senior political level and to IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir, Axios reports, citing an Israeli official.

Per Axios’s report, the Trump administration gave three reasons for the request, including a goal to cooperate with Iran’s oil ‌sector after the war (as Trump has done with Venezuela); fears that the ⁠strikes would harm the ​Iranian public; and concerns that it could trigger ​massive Iranian retaliatory attacks on energy infrastructure across Gulf states.

It comes after Israeli bombing of fuel storage facilities blanketed Tehran - a city home to some 10 million people - in toxic black smoke and acid rain over the weekend, raising urgent health warnings for ordinary Iranians, reports Guardian.

Iran has appealed to to the United Nations to condemn the US and Israel for a “manifest environmental crime”.