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An Iranian missile strike hit Israel’s BAZAN Group refineries in the northern city of Haifa on March 19, in an apparent response to the American-approved Israeli attack that targeted the Islamic Republic’s largest gas field, South Pars, a day earlier.
Energy Minister Eli Cohen said that the strike did not cause “significant damage”, but admitted that power was briefly disrupted.
“The damage to the power grid in the north is localized and not significant,” Cohen said. “Also, in the barrage towards the north, there was no significant damage to Israeli infrastructure sites.”
The IDF attempted to play down the strike by claiming that the impacts at the oil refineries in Haifa were caused by falling fragments following the interception of an Iranian ballistic missile. However, videos posted to social media showed a direct hit and a fairly large fire at the center of the facility.
The Haifa refineries are Israel’s largest oil processing facility and a cornerstone of the country’s energy security and industrial economy. They process approximately 197,000 barrels of oil per day, supplying roughly 50–60 percent of domestic fuel in the country.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced later it had targeted refineries in Haifa, and in Ashdod, in the south of Israel, “along with a range of security targets and military support centers of the Zionist regime”, which it said “were hit by pinpoint missiles” in response to the attack on the South Pars field.
The guards noted that a brand new missile system dubbed “Nasrallah” was used in the attacks, describing it as an upgraded version of the Ghadr medium-range ballistic missile, which is also known as Ghadr-110.
The missile is believed to have a liquid-fuel first stage and a solid-fuel second stage, with a range from 1,350 to 1,950 kilometers depending on the version. The missile can carry a warhead weighing from 650 kg to 1000 kg, and is equipped with an advanced satellite-aided inertial navigation system.
The new version of the missile is clearly named after Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of the Iran-aligned Hezbollah who was assassinated by Israel in Lebanon in 2024.
The attack on Haifa refineries confirms that the effectiveness of Israel’s multi-layered air defense networks is deteriorating, possibly as a result of depleted interceptor stockpiles, increasing technical issues from lengthy operations, or even from direct losses.
It also shows that Iran is working to boost its offensive capabilities amid the war, and doing so successfully to some extent.
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they should have destroyed the refinery long ago
actually no. the iranian leadership follows the same escalatory path as does russia. letting the world see who did what first and then retaliate to that. this way they take the high road. war criminals like trump don’t like to be exposed like that. being marked as a war criminal will not sit well with his overblown ego. it will do some damage to his mental health in the long run. every one has a soul, even when it’s a tiny one.
send a missile for each little girl they murdered
nice work from iran, flatten the whole complex.
lsraèl neèds to nook and turned lran into a glass parking lot alreàdy, what ìs nètanyahù waìting for? ìs bibi goìng to allòw the àyàtòllah regìme to destroy ìsraèl desalìnation facilities toò¿?
total destruction cannot come fast enough for israel!