IRGC threatens regional energy assets as Iran trades strikes with Israel

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Iran threatened to strike energy infrastructure in neighbouring countries and the broader region if Israeli attacks on Iranian energy facilities continue, as the two sides exchanged strikes on petrochemical sites on Monday.

An unnamed source told IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency that any further strikes on Iran’s energy facilities would trigger attacks on energy assets of the US, Israel and their regional partners.

The source said oil companies and energy firms operating in the region with US or Israeli shareholders were considered legitimate targets.

Earlier on Monday, Iranian media reported that Israel had struck the Karun petrochemical plant.

The facility is located in the port city of Mahshahr in Khuzestan province, in southwest Iran, one of the country’s main petrochemical and industrial zones.

The Karun complex is among the largest ethylene producers in Iran and a critical node in the country’s chemical export infrastructure. Videos circulating on social media showed smoke and fire at the site.

About an hour later, the IRGC said its Aerospace Force had struck petrochemical facilities in Haifa in retaliation.

Haifa is Israel’s main industrial port and the centre of its petrochemical sector, home to the Bazan Group oil refinery — Israel’s largest — as well as multiple chemical plants and storage terminals.

Strikes on the Haifa industrial zone risk significant civilian and environmental consequences given the density of hazardous materials stored there.

The IRGC said the strikes targeted “similar industrial facilities” to those hit in Iran and warned that Israel had “launched a dangerous game” by targeting civilian energy infrastructure.

Israeli forces separately said they had struck military sites in western and central Iran. The strikes came hours after Iran launched missiles toward Israel in response to an earlier Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

A man look at the wreckage of an Iranian missile that landed near the West Bank city of Jericho Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

At his weekly briefing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei directly rejected Trump’s claim that Washington had tried to prevent the Israeli strikes.

“No one believes that (Israel) would undertake any action without coordination with the United States,” Baghaei said, adding that the US Central Command was “fully aligned” with Israel “in both offensive and defensive operations.”

Baghaei said Iran’s military and diplomatic tracks were running in parallel. and that Iran’s armed forces will act “whenever necessary”.

He said Iran’s retaliatory strike was conducted under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which affirms the right of member states to individual or collective self-defence in response to an armed attack.

He held the US directly responsible for Israeli actions, saying Washington bore responsibility as a party to the 8 April ceasefire and that “any development in the region that results in a violation of the ceasefire entails direct US responsibility.”

In the most significant diplomatic signal of the briefing, Baghaei indicated for the first time that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile could be on the table in a second phase of negotiations — a notable shift from Tehran’s previous position that the issue was non-negotiable.

“Any discussion about various aspects of Iran’s nuclear programme, including its stockpile of enriched uranium, is purely speculative at this stage,” he said.

“If this stage reaches a successful conclusion, that issue would be one of the subjects to be discussed in the next phase of negotiations.”

He said current talks remained focused on ending the war and that a prisoner exchange with the US was not on the current agenda.

Baghaei further denied that Iran had struck Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, following reports of such an attack.

“Our armed forces openly and courageously announce any target they strike within the framework of Iran’s legitimate right of self-defence. In this case, we have received no such statement or announcement from our armed forces,” he said.

He also accused IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi of adopting a “completely biased, non-technical, and political approach” toward Iran’s nuclear file — the latest in a series of Iranian public attacks on Grossi’s handling of the agency’s monitoring role since the war began.

The exchange of strikes comes despite a ceasefire between Iran and the US that has been in place since 8 April.

Tehran has insisted the agreement covers all fronts, including Lebanon and Israeli operations — a position Washington and Israel reject.

Reports and social media footage from Iran indicated that Israeli strikes on Tehran and other major cities were continuing on Monday, with air defence systems activated to intercept incoming threats.