Israel defence minister says forces hit South Pars petrochemical plant in Iran

The plant is responsible for about 50 per cent of Iran's petrochemical production, said Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz.

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DUBAI: Israel’s defence minister said on Monday (Apr 6) that Israel attacked the South Pars petrochemical plant at Assaluyeh.

Israel Katz made the announcement after Iran said the facility had been attacked.

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

South Pars is the Iranian side of the world’s largest offshore natural gas field.

Located in the Persian Gulf, the reservoir is shared by Iran and Qatar. It holds an estimated 51 trillion cubic metres of usable gas - enough to supply the world’s needs for 13 years.

An Israeli attack in March on South Pars facilities sparked major Iranian attacks targeting oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf Arab states, including strikes on Qatar's huge Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility.

After that attack, United States President Donald Trump said Israel would not hit South Pars again, but at the same time warned that if Iran continued striking Qatar's energy infrastructure, the US would “massively blow up the entirety” of the field.

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