Tehran Is on Fire: US & Israel Just Bombed Iran's Oil Depots for the First Time

The war just crossed a line it had not crossed before. US and Israeli forces struck Iranian fuel and oil storage facilities in Tehran on Saturday night — marking the first time civil industrial infrastructure has been deliberately targeted since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28. The strikes hit the Shahran fuel depot in northwestern Tehran, sending pillars of flame and thick black smoke rising into the night sky visible across the capital. A second depot in southern Tehran, near the capital's main refinery complex, was also struck. A third facility in the city of Karaj — a major industrial hub west of Tehran — was hit separately. Iran's National Oil Refining and Distribution Company confirmed that missiles struck several facilities across Tehran and Alborz provinces, with firefighting teams working through the night to contain the blazes. The refinery itself was not damaged. The streets around the Shahran facility were reported to be on fire. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on television to promise that this is only the beginning. What Was Hit: Shahran, Southern Tehran, Karaj The Israeli Defence Forces confirmed the strikes, describing the targeted facilities as fuel storage complexes used by Iran's military. The IDF stated the tanks supply fuel to military infrastructure and military entities — framing the attacks as targeting military logistics rather than civilian energy supply. Iran's state media disputed that framing, describing the Shahran facility as one that supplies the capital and neighbouring provinces in the north — a characterisation that, if accurate, means the strikes will directly affect civilian fuel availability in a city of 9 million people already living under nine days of intensive bombardment. The IDF also confirmed separate strikes on an IRGC air force command centre in Tehran — described as the most central air defence operations room of the IRGC air force — as well as Iranian air defence systems, headquarters, logistical warehouses, ballistic missile production and launch sites, and a weapons depot of the IRGC Quds Force. Saturday night's wave of strikes was, by any measure, the most comprehensive single night of bombardment since the conflict began. Netanyahu: "Many Surprises" and "Many More Targets" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a televised address Saturday evening that left no room for ambiguity about Israel's intentions. The war against Iran will continue unabated and without compromises, Netanyahu said. Israel has an organised plan with many surprises for the next phase of the war with Iran — to destabilise the regime and enable change. Israel still has many more targets. "We are continuing with full force," Netanyahu said. The language — destabilise the regime, enable change — goes beyond the stated goal of dismantling Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. It is the clearest public statement yet from an Israeli leader that the objective of this campaign extends to regime change in Tehran. As digital8hub.com has reported, US President Donald Trump has threatened that Iran will be hit very hard and that more areas and groups of people would become targets — without elaborating. Trump also told an audience at his Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral that the US military has knocked out 42 Iranian navy ships and much of the Iranian air force. The war, in both Washington's and Jerusalem's telling, is nowhere near finished. Iran Fires Back: Haifa Refinery Targeted, Baghdad Green Zone Hit Iran's response to the oil depot strikes was immediate and symmetrical. Iran fired ballistic missiles targeting the Haifa refinery in northern Israel — a direct tit-for-tat response to the fuel depot strikes in Tehran. Sirens sounded across Israel, with incoming missiles from Iran sending people to bomb shelters across central and northern Israel. A missile landed on the helicopter landing pad in the US Embassy compound in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone — the first reported strike to land inside the Green Zone since the conflict began. Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister called the embassy attack a terrorist act carried out by rogue groups. Three Iraqi security officials confirmed the strike independently. Saudi Arabia destroyed drones headed toward its Shaybah oil field and shot down a ballistic missile launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts US forces. Kuwait reported further attacks. The war's geographic footprint — already spanning more than 14 countries — continued to expand. The Energy Dimension: WTI Crosses $93, Brent at $97 The targeting of Iranian fuel infrastructure adds a new and deeply alarming dimension to an energy crisis already at breaking point. As digital8hub.com has reported extensively, WTI crude had already crossed $90 per barrel by Saturday morning — its highest level since September 2023. The oil depot strikes pushed WTI to $93 and Brent toward $97 in after-hours trading Saturday night. Qatar's energy minister had already warned that oil could hit $150 per barrel within two to three weeks if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. The strikes on Tehran's fuel depots — which supply both military and civilian consumers — signal that the US and Israel are now prepared to target Iran's energy infrastructure directly. That decision carries a bilateral risk: Iran has already demonstrated both the willingness and the capability to strike Gulf energy facilities in retaliation, and a direct escalation against Iranian oil infrastructure is likely to produce an Iranian response targeting Saudi, Emirati, and Kuwaiti energy infrastructure at a scale not yet seen in this conflict. The war entered its second week with oil depots burning in Tehran, a refinery targeted in Haifa, the US Embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone hit, and Netanyahu promising many surprises to come. For the latest updates on Operation Epic Fury and the global energy crisis, follow digital8hub.com.