Israeli security source says damage to steel plants partially owned by IRGC expected to cost billions, ‘paralyze’ industry; IDF: separate strikes hit Yazd yellowcake facility, Arak heavy water reactor.
The Israeli Air Force on Friday bombed two of Iran’s largest steel factories, according to Iranian media and Israeli security sources, as well as two facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear program, in moves that sparked vows of retaliation from Tehran. The Fars news agency reported that Israeli strikes hit Khuzestan Steel near Ahvaz and Mobarakeh Steel in Isfahan, two major production facilities. The strikes on the plants, which an Israeli security source briefing reporters said were partially owned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, were expected to cause billions of dollars in damage to the Iranian economy, as well as “paralyze” Iran’s steel industry.
It marked the first apparent instance of Israel targeting Iranian industrial facilities not directly linked to its defense or oil and gas industries. US President Donald Trump indicated earlier this week that energy sites would not be hit for the time being, as Washington has sought to avoid turning Iran into a failed state, while Jerusalem has indicated such a result is still preferable to the current regime’s continued rule. An Israeli security source told reporters that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the Friday strikes, with the latter publicly vowing separately that Israel would intensify its strikes against Iran. The strikes sparked a sharp rebuke from Iran, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also vowing that Tehran would exact a “HEAVY price.”
“Israel has hit two of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites among other infrastructure. Israel claims it acted in coordination with the US,” Araghchi said in a social media post. The IRGC also vowed to target industrial sites in Israel and in the Gulf states in response, warning employees of the region’s industrial sites “that have American shareholders as well as heavy industries allied with the Zionist regime… to leave their workplaces immediately” as they vowed to carry out retaliatory attacks. (Read More)
