Tehran, 20 March (H.S.): On Thursday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) executed a missile barrage that struck an oil refinery in Israel's northern port city of Haifa, claiming precise hits on key energy and military infrastructure despite Israeli assertions of minimal damage.
The IRGC declared the operation targeted refineries in Haifa—Israel's third-largest city and Ashdod in the south, alongside security targets and military support centers of the Zionist regime, with munitions landing at multiple sites prompting bomb disposal teams.
Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen acknowledged a brief power disruption from shrapnel impacting a Haifa-area power line, swiftly restored within 45 minutes to all affected customers, while the Environmental Protection Ministry investigated intercepted missile debris as a potential hazardous incident; no casualties were reported.
This assault echoes a prior Iranian missile strike on the Haifa facility last June, which claimed three lives and suspended operations, underscoring Tehran's focus on disrupting Israel's energy sector in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli attacks initiated on February 28 that have ravaged Iranian assets.
Israeli officials downplayed infrastructural harm as localized and not significant, yet the incident heightens tensions over the Strait of Hormuz and regional energy vulnerabilities.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
