Israel hits South Pars petrochemical plant in Iran

Israel’s defence minister said Monday that the country has attacked the South Pars petrochemical plant at Asaluyeh in southern Iran, amid a war that began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28.

Israel Katz made the announcement after Iran said the facility had been attacked, saying Israel had “just carried out a powerful strike on the largest petrochemical facility in Iran, located in Asaluyeh, a central target responsible for about 50 per cent of the country’s petrochemical production.”

The gas field shared with Qatar is the world’s largest and sits under the Persian Gulf. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency and the judicary’s Mizan news agency reported the attack and blamed the U.S. and Israel.

The U.S. did not immediately comment, though U.S. President Donald Trump was set to speak to journalists at the White House on Monday afternoon, his first public appearance since Wednesday.

An Israeli attack in March on South Pars facilities sparked major Iranian attacks targeting oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf Arab states.