Israeli Strikes Knock Out Iran’s Two Largest Petrochemical Complexes
Israel launched airstrikes on Iran’s largest petrochemical complex on Monday, targeting facilities in the southern city of Asaluyeh that officials say are critical to the country’s military and export economy.
Multiple explosions were reported at the South Pars Petrochemical complex in Asaluyeh, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency. Footage circulating on social media showed fires at the facility following the strikes.
Iranian state media confirmed the strikes. Tasnim reported that companies supplying electricity, water and oxygen to Asaluyeh were hit, while the Pars petrochemical company itself was not damaged. It added that power to all petrochemical units in the area had been cut.
A similar Israeli strike targeted the Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Zone in southwest Khuzestan province on Saturday, with a local official saying five people were killed.
In a post on X, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck sites that produce chemical materials used in explosives and ballistic missile propellants.
“The damage to this infrastructure will disrupt the regime’s ability to produce essential components for the missile industry intended to target Israel and other countries in the Middle East,” the IDF said.
“At this point, the two facilities, which together account for roughly 85 percent of Iran’s petrochemical exports, have been taken out of operation and are no longer functioning,” Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said, adding it was “a severe economic blow amounting to tens of billions of dollars.”
Katz said Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the continued strikes on what he called “the infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime.“
In a separate development, the Israeli military said it killed Maj. Gen. Seyed Majid Khademi, the intelligence commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, during overnight strikes. Khademi had been appointed to the role in June 2025 after his predecessor was killed in an earlier Israeli operation.
