In an interview with CNBC, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, Helima Croft, said that it is her belief that in retaliation for Iran’s alleged support for the Palestinian group Hamas, Washington will likely begin a campaign of tightening sanctions on crude oil shipments for the Islamic Republic.

In the interview, she said that “at a minimum,” the West and the Biden administration would consider imposing more stringent restrictions on Iranian energy exports in retaliation for Iranian interference in the conflict.

Her comments follow a warning from US Senator Lindsey Graham to Tehran, noting that the US Military would target the country’s oil industry as retaliation for any escalation in the Middle East. The Senator said that he intended to offer an official resolution specifying such, pointing to concerns that the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, could join the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Croft noted that, “The argument is, can you continue to allow Iran to keep the bank open for groups like Hamas?” She noted that by her estimates, exports of oil from Iran are now approaching the levels seen just before 2018, when the administration of former President Donald Trump had imposed restrictive measures.

She said, “So, I think the Biden administration is going to have to tighten those sanctions,” adding it would need to be done soon.

President Biden has warned the Iranian regime to “Be Careful” however at the same time, he acknowledged that “at this point,” there was no “clear evidence” that Iran had offered material support which had aided Hamas to carry out the attack on Israel which had ignited the conflict.

The current conflict began on October 7th, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a cross border raid into Israel from Gaza, targeting border villages and a music festival, resulting in thousands of deaths, and dozens of kidnapped hostages being taken back into Gaza.

Israel has so far launched an unprecedented bombardment of Gaza in retaliation, as it has been preparing a ground invasion, with the intention of wiping out Hamas fighters and recovering hostages.

According to the UK based aid group Save the Children, citing figures from the Hamas operated Health Ministry in Gaza, which it released on Monday, at least 5,087 people have died in the bombardment of Gaza, including at least 2,055 children.