Israeli aggression targets the heart of Iran's petrochemical industry, Katz vows more

Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, announced today, Monday, that the air force carried out a military strike, which he described as powerful and extensive, targeting a strategic petrochemical facility in the city of Asaluyeh, located in southwestern Iran. Katz confirmed in an official statement that this facility is the largest of its kind in the Islamic Republic, noting that the attack comes as part of a series of operations aimed at undermining the economic and military capabilities of the Iranian regime.

The Israeli minister explained in a video statement that the targeted facility in Asaluyeh contributed about 50% of the total national production of petrochemicals in the country. He considered that disabling this vital facility represents a paralysis of a large part of the Iranian industry, on which the state relies to provide hard currency and finance various sectors, including military activities.

Coinciding with the Asaluyeh attack, field reports indicated other airstrikes targeting a massive petrochemical complex in the Mahroodasht area near the city of Shiraz in the south of the country. Sources stated that these coordinated attacks targeted vital joints in the energy infrastructure, leading to rising smoke plumes from the targeted sites and widespread disruption of associated essential services.

Katz claimed that the two bombed facilities together produce approximately 85% of Iran's total petrochemical exports, confirming their complete incapacitation due to severe damage. The Israeli official estimated the economic value of these losses at tens of billions of dollars, describing it as a devastating blow that will directly affect the Iranian state budget.

In an attempt to justify targeting civilian and economic facilities, the Israeli Defense Minister claimed that the petrochemical industry is the main driver for financing the activities of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and building military power. He indicated that destroying these resources aims to dry up the funding sources used by Tehran to develop its armament programs and support its allies in the region.

For its part, official Iranian media acknowledged the attack, with Fars news agency quoting officials in Bushehr province as saying that production units in the Asaluyeh complex were damaged. Iranian sources explained that the bombing directly targeted companies supplying the complex with electricity, water, and oxygen, causing production operations to halt due to the interruption of vital supplies to the main units.

Regarding the attack on the Mahroodasht complex near Shiraz, local authorities confirmed control over a fire that broke out at the site after the airstrikes, claiming that the damage was minor and did not lead to comprehensive destruction of the facility. These statements come at a time when technical agencies are trying to assess the actual extent of the damage and work to restore essential services to the affected industrial complexes.

Media sources from Tehran reported that the targeting of Asaluyeh facilities in the South Pars field was not the first of its kind in recent weeks, as the region has witnessed escalating tensions and an exchange of strikes. Sources indicated that these operations come in the context of reciprocal responses that included targeting oil and gas facilities in several countries in the region, which Tehran accuses of being linked to American and Israeli interests.

Earlier, the Iranian armed forces carried out a series of military operations as part of what they described as the 'True Promise 4' wave, during which they targeted strategic sites in Haifa, Beersheba, and Tel Aviv. Iranian attacks also included drone manufacturing facilities and commercial ships, in addition to harassing a US helicopter carrier in the Indian Ocean to force it away from Iranian coasts.

It is worth noting that this escalation comes amid widespread aggression launched by Israel and the United States against Iran since late February, a conflict that has resulted in thousands of casualties and widespread infrastructure destruction. The beginning of this aggression witnessed a dramatic development with the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an airstrike, pushing the region to the brink of a comprehensive regional war whose repercussions are still unfolding.

The two facilities, which together produce about 85% of Iran's petrochemical exports, are now completely out of service, a severe economic blow.