Israel launched a massive airstrike on a petrochemical industrial complex that serves as a key pillar of Iran's economy. It also killed Iran's intelligence chief, maintaining its offensive pressure on Tehran.
On Tuesday, Israel's Ministry of Defense said it struck and shut down the largest petrochemical industrial complex in Asaluyeh in southern Iran. The facility handles approximately 50% of Iran's petrochemical production. Asaluyeh is a strategic hub for Iran's energy industry, located adjacent to South Pars, the world's largest offshore gas field in Iran's southern waters.
Israel had previously struck the Mahshahr petrochemical special zone in the southwestern province of Khuzestan on June 4. Military tensions remain high in the region, as Iran has warned it will launch a strong retaliation if attacks on its civilian facilities and energy and industrial infrastructure continue.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military killed Maj. Gen. Majid Kademi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence organization, in Tehran. Kademi became the IRGC intelligence chief as the successor to Mohammad Kazemi, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during last year's "12-Day War." The organization operates separately from the Iranian government's intelligence ministry and is responsible for monitoring dissidents, conducting personnel inspections within the IRGC and government, and counterintelligence. It is considered to wield greater influence and intelligence capabilities than the intelligence ministry.