Iran’s military announces major retaliatory strikes on Israeli energy facilities

Iran's Air Force conducted drone strikes against critical energy facilities in the northern port city of Haifa in response to recent Israeli bombardment of Iranian oil depots. 

“The brave men of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, in response to the aggression against Iran's oil depots, targeted the oil refinery, gas refinery, and fuel storage facilities of the Zionist regime in Haifa,” the spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement on Tuesday.

The strike represents a significant shift toward targeting energy infrastructure, following what analysts describe as "Phase II" of the US-Israeli war on March 7, which expanded target lists to include Iranian energy infrastructure.

The Haifa refinery, with a capacity of 197,000 barrels per day, had reportedly preemptively shut down several units last week as a precautionary measure.

The military statement further revealed that the 33rd wave of Operation True Promise 4 successfully destroyed the "Haula" satellite communications center south of Tel Aviv.

"This center was one of the main communication hubs between air bases and the Zionist regime's fighter jets," the spokesman said. "The Aerospace Force's explosive drones, during a special operation, struck and destroyed this center."

Missile strike on US base

In a separate operation Tuesday, the statement announced the IRGC Ground Forces had targeted the US military presence at Harir Air Base in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

"The base of the aggressor US army in Al-Harir Air Base in the Kurdistan region was targeted with five missiles," the statement said.

The Iranian military also reported extensive air defense operations across multiple provinces, successfully intercepting and destroying several advanced reconnaissance drones.

Among them was two Hermes-900 drones in Lorestan and Qom provinces, shot down by the Army's Air Defense Force.

Iranian air defenses have shot down over 80 drones of various types, including US MQ-9s and multiple Israeli models.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters spokesman said, “The battle with the criminals of America and the child-killing Zionist regime continues until the final victory of the right front against falsehood.”

The operations mark a significant escalation in the ongoing war that began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched unprovoked attacks on Iranian territory.

The US-Israeli aggression has damaged or destroyed around 13,000 civilian units so far, according to official figures.

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