A refinery in Haifa, Israel, has been struck in an Iranian attack as Tehran continues to target oil infrastructure in the Middle East.
Iran has reportedly struck the Haifa Oil Refinery, Israel’s largest oil processing facility. The Iranian Consulate in Hyderabad, India, has shared a photo on X showing smoking rising from the refinery. There are reports of a mass power outage reported in Haifa following the Iranian strike. There are also reports of a person suffering minor injuries due to falling shrapnel.
The Israeli military (IDF), however, stressed that there were no direct missile impacts at the oil facilities, and added that “the impacts at the oil refineries in Haifa were caused by falling fragments following the interception of an Iranian ballistic missile”. Energy Minister Eli Cohen says that “no significant damage to infrastructure sites” was caused in the attack, The Times of Israel reported.
The refinery is operated by the Bazan Group, has an annual capacity of 9.8 million tons of crude oil, and supply up to 60% of Israel’s transport fuel. The attack on the rifenery is part of Iran’s retaliation after the recent US-Israeli strikes on the country’s military and nuclear sites.
The attack is likely to affect the current cost of oil, which has already been impacted by the tension and conflict in the Middle East. The recent Iran strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub – which supplies one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas – have triggered a 35% surge in European gas prices and sent oil soaring amid fears of prolonged energy chaos.
QatarEnergy confirmed: “Missile hits led to sizeable fires and halted operations.” This came while the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to tankers. Recently, Tehran also targeted Gulf neighbours, including Kuwaiti refineries, after Israel strikes on Iran’s South Pars field.
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