Iran has reported an attack on the South Pars petrochemical plant in the city of Asaluyeh, in Bushehr province, in the southwest of the country.
Several explosions were heard at the facility, according to local media reports. South Pars is the Iranian segment of the world's largest natural gas field, shared with Qatar across the Persian Gulf.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the attack. In a statement, he said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) "just launched a powerful attack on Iran's largest petrochemical plant, located in Asaluyeh, a key target responsible for approximately 50% of the country's petrochemical production, following last week's attack on the second largest plant." He added that both facilities, "which together account for about 85% of Iran's petrochemical exports, have been taken offline and are not operational."
According to Katz, "this represents a severe economic blow" to Iran. The minister indicated that the IDF has been instructed to "continue attacking the Islamic Republic's infrastructure with full force."
Meanwhile, Tasnim reports that the South Pars petrochemical complex was not damaged in the attacks, as the bombing targeted auxiliary facilities.
The Mobin and Damavand companies, which supplied electricity, water, and oxygen to the petrochemical plant, were among the targets of the attacks, the agency reports. Meanwhile, the deputy governor of Bushehr province announced that several petrochemical production units were damaged in another Israeli attack on the Pars Energy Special Economic Zone, a crucial industrial hub focused on oil extraction.
CRIMES OF WASHINGTON AND TEL AVIV
Israel had previously bombed South Pars. At that time, Tehran responded by launching attacks against several Israeli refineries.
Today, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei reminded the US and Israel that "negotiations are incompatible with ultimatums, crimes, and threats."
"Today marks 38 days of the war imposed by the United States and the Zionist regime [Israel] against the Iranian people, during which time they have committed crimes that surpass those of the greatest criminals in history," he said. Washington and Tel Aviv frequently target civilian areas, including universities and other educational and scientific institutions.
Furthermore, at least six children were killed early Monday morning as a result of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran province.
At the same time, several countries have expressed concern that the actions of Israel and the United States could trigger a large-scale nuclear catastrophe in the region, due to their ongoing bombing of Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility.
