Israel strikes Iran’s biggest petrochemical hub, raising fears of a multibillion-dollar economic hit

Israel has reportedly expanded its attacks on Iran’s economic infrastructure, with the latest strike said to have hit the country’s largest petrochemical complex and raised fears of damage running into tens of billions of dollars. Channel News Asia, citing Iran’s Fars news agency, reported on Monday (April 6) that the attack came as Tehran brushed aside US President Donald Trump’s threat to devastate civilian infrastructure unless Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the report, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces targeted the South Pars petrochemical complex in Assaluyeh, a major port town in Bushehr province and one of Iran’s most important industrial and energy hubs. The site sits within the South Pars field, the Iranian side of the world’s largest offshore natural gas reservoir shared with Qatar, and is central to both the country’s domestic energy system and its export earnings.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that several companies supplying electricity, water and oxygen to facilities in Assaluyeh were also struck. However, it said Pars Petrochemical Company itself was not directly damaged. Even so, electricity supplies to petrochemical units across the area were cut, disrupting operations at the wider complex.

The latest strike followed an earlier reported Israeli attack on Saturday (April 4) on the Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone in southwestern Iran, another key pillar of the country’s petrochemical industry. Iranian local officials said that attack killed five people.

Katz said the two attacks together had put out of operation facilities accounting for roughly 85% of Iran’s petrochemical exports. He described the strikes as a severe economic blow that could cost Iran tens of billions of dollars. Analysts say any prolonged disruption would likely hit export revenues, force industrial plants to halt production and put pressure on jobs in major industrial zones.

Still, Iran has yet to issue a full official assessment of the actual extent of the damage. There has also been no definitive public statement on how Tehran may respond, leaving uncertainty hanging over both the conflict and its wider economic fallout.