{"id":377977,"date":"2026-04-06T14:22:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T14:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/377977\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:22:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T14:22:07","slug":"israel-strikes-massive-south-pars-petrochemical-plant-in-iran-as-trumps-deadline-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/377977\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel strikes massive South Pars petrochemical plant in Iran as Trump’s deadline approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) \u2014 Israel struck a key petrochemical plant<\/a> at Iran\u2019s massive South Pars natural gas field and killed two paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commanders on Monday, potentially challenging a new 45-day ceasefire proposal for Tehran<\/a> and the United States as President Donald Trump\u2019s ultimatum looms within hours.<\/p>\n

The gas field attack was aimed at eliminating a major source of revenue for Iran<\/a>, Israel said. The field is critical to Iran\u2019s electricity production, but the strike appeared to be separate from Trump\u2019s threats to target power plants and bridges if Tehran doesn\u2019t reopen the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> to all shipping traffic.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s grip on the strait has caused oil prices to surge<\/a> and shaken the world economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Defense Minister Israel Katz described \u201ca powerful strike on the largest petrochemical facility in Iran.\u201d The gas field shared with Qatar is the world\u2019s largest and sits under the Persian Gulf. Iranian state media confirmed the attack and blamed the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately comment, though Trump was set to speak to journalists Monday afternoon, his first public appearance since Wednesday. He had been relatively quiet during the rescue of downed U.S. aviators<\/a> in Iran.<\/p>\n

After Israel\u2019s attack on the field in March, Trump said Israel would not attack it again but warned that if Iran continued striking Qatar\u2019s energy infrastructure, the United States would \u201cmassively blow up\u201d the field.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> is set for Monday night Washington time.<\/p>\n

Israel threatens Iranian officials as mediators try to buy time<\/p>\n

Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators have sent Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff a proposal calling for a 45-day ceasefire and the reopening of the strait, two Mideast officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists in Tehran that messages are being exchanged with mediators but \u201cnegotiations are entirely incompatible with ultimatums, crimes, and threats of war crimes<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Islamabad, two senior officials said Pakistan\u2019s efforts for a ceasefire are at an advanced stage but \u201cseveral spoilers and detractors\u201d are trying to sow confusion through disinformation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, explosions boomed in Tehran and low-flying jets could be heard for hours.<\/p>\n

Among those killed was the head of intelligence for Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, according to Iranian state media and Israel\u2019s defense minister.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military said it also killed the leader of the Revolutionary Guard\u2019s undercover unit in its expeditionary Quds Force, Asghar Bakeri.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s defense minister vowed to keep targeting top-ranking officials. \u201cIran\u2019s leaders live with a sense of being targeted,\u201d Katz said. \u201cWe will continue to hunt them down one by one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia activated air defenses to intercept Iranian missiles and drones as Tehran kept up pressure on Gulf neighbors, which has included strikes against infrastructure like oil fields. In Israel, Iranian missiles hit the northern city of Haifa, where four people from one family were found dead in the rubble of a residential building.<\/p>\n

Oil prices unsettled as pressure grows<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s attacks on regional energy infrastructure and its hold on the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil is shipped in peacetime, have sent global energy prices soaring<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose to $109 in early Monday spot trading, about 50% higher than when the war started, then wavered.<\/p>\n

Under pressure at home as consumers<\/a> worry, Trump<\/a> has warned Iran that if no deal is reached to reopen the strait, the U.S. would hit power plants and other infrastructure and set the country \u201cback to the stone ages.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one,\u201d he threatened Sunday.<\/p>\n

Trump has given multiple deadlines to Iran, and has posted: \u201cTuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!\u201d though it was not clear whether he had extended his deadline.<\/p>\n

Former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayatir urged Arab countries to discourage Trump from striking power plants, warning on social media that the entire region would go \u201cdark\u201d if that happens.<\/p>\n

Following Trump\u2019s expletive-laced post Sunday, Iran\u2019s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf called threats of targeting Iran\u2019s infrastructure \u201creckless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran has let some vessels through the strait since the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28, but none belong to those countries or ones perceived as helping them. Some have paid Iran for passage<\/a> but the flow of traffic is down more than 90% over the same period last year.<\/p>\n

Airstrikes kill more than 25 across Iran <\/p>\n

Thick smoke rose near Tehran\u2019s Azadi Square after an airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology. Multiple countries have sanctioned the university for its work with the military, particularly on Iran\u2019s ballistic missile program.<\/p>\n

Araghchi called university \u201cthe MIT of Iran,\u201d posting on social media that \u201cAggressors will see our might.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iranian media reported damage to buildings and a natural gas distribution site next to campus. The university is empty as the war has forced all schools into online classes.<\/p>\n

A strike near Eslamshar, southwest of Tehran, killed at least 15 people, authorities said. Five were killed in a residential area in Qom, and six were killed in strikes on other cities, the state-run IRAN daily newspaper reported. Three people were killed at a home in Tehran, state television reported.<\/p>\n

In Lebanon, where Israel has launched air attacks and a ground invasion that it says target the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia, an airstrike hit an apartment in Ain Saadeh, a predominately Christian town east of Beirut. It killed an official in the Lebanese Forces, a Christian political party strongly opposed to Hezbollah, his wife and another woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had always felt safe here,\u201d family friend Nadine Naameh said.<\/p>\n

War\u2019s death toll in the thousands <\/p>\n

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.<\/p>\n

More than 1,400 people have been killed<\/a> in Lebanon<\/a> and more than 1 million people have been displaced<\/a>. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.<\/p>\n

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members<\/a> have been killed.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Isabel DeBre in Ain Saadeh, Lebanon, contributed to this story. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEHRAN, Iran (AP) \u2014 Israel struck a key petrochemical plant at Iran\u2019s massive South Pars natural gas field…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50433,181103,181102,114,54,12354,181100,122,86,85,119,87,20889,117780,46,8377,3896,157952,181101,43,158728,238,7319,7313,3336,121,14753,12526,126],"class_list":{"0":"post-377977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-abbas-araghchi","9":"tag-ali-akbar-velayatir","10":"tag-asghar-bakeri","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-donald-trump","13":"tag-energy-industry","14":"tag-esmail-baghaei","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-hezbollah","17":"tag-il","18":"tag-international-agreements","19":"tag-iran","20":"tag-iran-government","21":"tag-iran-war","22":"tag-israel","23":"tag-manufacturing-sector","24":"tag-military-and-defense","25":"tag-mohammad-bagher-qalibaf","26":"tag-nadine-naameh","27":"tag-news","28":"tag-oil-and-gas-industry","29":"tag-politics","30":"tag-religion","31":"tag-steve-witkoff","32":"tag-tehran","33":"tag-war-and-unrest","34":"tag-war-crimes","35":"tag-washington-news","36":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}