The United States and Israel launched a series of attacks on oil facilities in southern Tehran on Saturday night, in what Iranian state media described as the first reported bombing of the Islamic Republic's energy infrastructure.
According to the Iranian agency ILNA, the attacks affected four oil depots and a transportation center for petroleum products located in the provinces of Tehran and Alborz, in an area near a strategic refinery. Authorities confirmed that the main refinery sustained no direct damage.
Keramat Veyskarami, executive director of the National Company for the Distribution of Oil Products in Iran, confirmed to state television that the facilities were hit by "enemy planes."
After the bombings, large fires were reported in the area, visible even from nearby roads, although emergency teams managed to control the flames hours later.
The attack occurred just hours after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, hinted at a military offensive against Iran. "Iran will be hit very hard today," the leader wrote on his platform Truth Social, where he also warned that Washington could expand the list of targets in Iranian territory if Tehran continues what he described as "bad behavior" in the region.
Trump also stated that the military pressure exercised alongside Israel would have forced Iran to apologize to neighboring countries and asserted that the Iranian regime “is no longer the bully of the Middle East, but rather the loser of the Middle East.”
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would continue its offensive "with full force" and maintained that the operations aim to transform the balance of power in the region. According to the leader, those within the Iranian regime who lay down their arms will not face retaliation.
The military operation also included coordinated airstrikes against strategic targets in Iran. Among these were reported bombings of Mehrabad International Airport, as well as severe damage to desalination plants on Qeshm Island, which would have deprived more than 30 communities in the south of the country of access to drinking water.
Iranian official sources reported that the attacks impacted critical infrastructure and civilian populations. However, the Israeli army claimed that Mehrabad Airport was functioning as a "nerve center" for the storage and distribution of weapons and funding aimed at groups allied with Tehran, particularly the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
The operations would also have reached other airports, including those in Bushehr and Payam, in Karaj. According to the Israeli version, at least 16 Iranian military aircraft that posed a threat to their air operations were destroyed during the attacks.
Military escalation marks a new chapter in the growing tension between Iran, the United States, and Israel, raising international concerns about the risk of a broader conflict in the Middle East.
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