Tehran [Iran], April 6 (ANI): The ongoing conflict in West Asia further intensified on Monday as the Israeli Air Force targeted Iran‘s largest petrochemical facility in Asaluyeh in the Bushehr Province, damaging part of the South Pars Special Economic Energy Zone, with Iranian authorities confirming damage to the Jam and Damavand complexes.

According to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) strike hit “the largest petrochemical facility in Iran, located in Asaluyeh, a central target responsible for about 50 per cent of the country’s petrochemical production, following last week’s strike on the second main facility,” the Times of Israel reported. In a statement, Katz added that the two facilities, “which together are responsible for about 85 per cent of Iran‘s petrochemical exports, have been taken out of use and are not functioning,” calling the attack “a severe economic blow amounting to tens of billions of dollars to the Iranian regime.”

As per Times of Israel, Katz highlighted the strategic role of the sector, saying it is “a central engine in financing the activities” of Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran‘s military build-up and also stated that the IDF has been instructed to “continue striking with full force the national infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime”.

The attack on these facilities was later confirmed by Iranian authorities, who described the strikes as “criminal attacks” by the “American-Zionist enemy”.According to Iranian state media, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), citing a statement issued by the Islamic Republic’s National Petrochemical Industries Company, emergency teams were deployed immediately after the strikes, and the situation is “under control”.

No casualties were reported, with officials currently assessing the technical impact and extent of the damage.Head of Iran‘s Strategic Energy Management Organization, Saqab Esfahani, described the attacks as “reverse psychological operations against the enemy,” noting that “the construction of the South Pars refinery and phases is the result of decades of financial and production efforts,” adding that “some infrastructure has been damaged and production capacity has been slightly reduced,” as reported by IRIB.

He further emphasised, “Every fuel saved is fuel for our armed forces in the field.”The strikes mark a significant escalation in hostilities between Israel and Iran amid the border conflict in the region involving the US, highlighting the importance of the energy facilities in the region as strategic targets amid the conflict. (ANI)

“Whoever builds Iranian axis of evil…their blood is on their head”: Netanyahu after IDF kills IRGC intelligence head, Quds Force unit chief

Tel Aviv [Israel], April 6 (ANI): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday issued a stark warning to Israel’s adversaries after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had killed Major General Majid Khademi, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Organisation, along with a senior commander of the elite Quds Force’s Unit 840, in strikes targeting Tehran.

In a post on X, Netanyahu lauded the strikes by the IDF that led to the killing of the senior military leaders, noting that there would be severe consequences against anyone trying to harm Israel and its citizens. He also warned against anyone trying to build an Iranian axis of evil.

“Whoever acts to murder our citizens, whoever directs terror against the State of Israel, whoever builds the Iranian axis of evil – their blood is on their head. We are acting with strength and determination – we will reach everyone who seeks to harm us. We will continue with full force, on all fronts, until the threat is removed and all the war’s objectives are achieved,” the Israeli PM stated in his post.

Earlier in the day, the IDF, in a statement on Telegram, said that Majid Khademi, one of the IRGC‘s most senior commanders, was eliminated in a precise Israeli Air Force strike in Tehran on Sunday night.Khademi had recently assumed his post following the elimination of his predecessor, Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi, in Operation Rising Lion and was responsible for gathering intelligence for the Iranian regime’s senior leadership and advancing terrorist activities against Israel, Jewish targets worldwide, and even American individuals, as per the IDF.

He also played a role in monitoring Iranian civilians during internal suppression operations.In a separate statement, the IDF confirmed that Asghar Bagheri, commander of the Quds Force’s Special Operations Unit 840 since 2019, was also killed in the operation.Bagheri had orchestrated numerous attacks against Israeli and American targets globally and had planned operations within Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. His unit targeted IDF soldiers along the Syrian-Israel border and facilitated the transfer of weapons from Iran into Israel.

The elimination of Khademi and Bagheri is part of a broader campaign by the IDF, which has targeted dozens of senior IRGC and Quds Force commanders, significantly weakening their command-and-control capabilities and operational reach amid the conflict in West Asia.Israel has repeatedly emphasised its determination to neutralise threats to its citizens, vowing to act decisively against individuals and units planning or executing attacks against the state and its people. (ANI)

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