Iran has vowed to “exact a heavy price” for Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities, steel plants, and civilian infrastructure, as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its fourth week with mounting pressure on global energy markets and fears of further escalation across the Middle East.
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Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the attacks in a statement posted on social media, accusing Israel of striking critical infrastructure in coordination with the United States.
“Israel has hit two of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites among other infrastructure,” Araghchi said.
“Israel claims it acted in coordination with the US. Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy. Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes.”
The targeted sites include the Khondab Heavy Water Facility in Arak, the Ardakan Yellowcake Production Plant (also known as the Shahid Rezayee Nejad facility) in Yazd province, and major steel plants in Khuzestan and Mobarakeh in Isfahan.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed it had been informed of the attack on the yellowcake production facility.
“The IAEA has been informed by Iran that the Shahid Rezayee Nejad Yellow Cake Production Facility in Yazd province was attacked today,” the agency said in a statement.
“No increase in off-site radiation levels reported. The IAEA is looking into the report.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reiterated his call for military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident.
According to Iranian officials, the attacks on the two nuclear facilities did not result in any radiation leak.
Two people were killed and two others injured when US-Israeli attacks hit a cement factory in the Iranian city of Firouzabad, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.
An earlier attack on steel factories in Isfahan and Khuzestan killed one person and injured two others.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned of retaliation and issued a stark warning to civilians in the region.
According to reports from Tehran, the IRGC warned that “everyone in the region close to American-related industrial sites should be away from them, also in Israel.”
Analysts suggest that given the targeting of two Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran’s response could mirror the attack — potentially launching rockets or drones towards Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility.
“So, it seems it’s going to be a tense night also for the other side,” Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem reported from Tehran.
“Retaliation could be a bit wide, and of course, given the fact that two nuclear facilities were hit, just like the last time, it could also be that the Iranians might launch rockets or drones towards Dimona in Israel, where the nuclear facility is.”
In a parallel diplomatic development, Iran’s representative to the United Nations in Vienna, Reza Najafi, announced that Tehran has agreed to “facilitate the passage of humanitarian shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in response to a UN request.”
The statement, carried by Iran’s ISNA news agency, suggests Iran is seeking to avoid being blamed for a complete blockade of humanitarian supplies through the critical waterway.
As tensions mount in Iran, Israel launched what it described as a “large scale” wave of attacks on Beirut, claiming it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital.
The Israeli military relayed the message in a brief statement on X.
Al Jazeera’s team on the ground reported that the day had already seen a series of heavy Israeli attacks on the capital’s southern suburbs, with low-flying jets audible off and on for at least six hours.
Hezbollah announced that it had targeted Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel with missiles for the fourth time as part of a warning it had issued to Israeli settlements.
The group added that it had targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers and vehicles at the Malkiya site with missiles for the third time.
The conflict has caused severe disruption to shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas is shipped in peacetime — including 20 million barrels of oil per day.
The closure of the strait has forced countries in the Middle East to explore alternative routes to get energy exports out, with attention turning to pipelines in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iraq.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that if the energy crisis sparked by the conflict drags on and causes shortages, Germany might have to keep running coal-fired power plants longer than planned.
“If the energy crisis continues and a shortage actually occurs, we may even have to keep existing coal-fired power plants online for longer,” Merz said.
“We have to supply this country with electricity. I am not prepared to jeopardise the core of our industry just because we have decided on phase-out plans that have become unrealistic.”
International Energy Agency member countries have agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil available to the market — the largest such emergency action in the organisation’s history.
France, which chairs the G7 this year, has so far released 580,000 barrels of oil — around 4 percent of its total pledge of 14.6 million barrels — according to Finance Minister Roland Lescure.
Finance and energy ministers of the G7 nations will meet on Monday along with central bankers to discuss the ongoing crisis, Lescure added.
As the conflict enters its fourth week, the immediate focus is on Iran’s promised retaliation and whether it will target Israeli nuclear facilities in response to the attacks on Arak and Ardakan.
The IRGC’s warning to civilians near American and Israeli-related sites suggests Tehran is preparing a significant response, potentially expanding the scope of the conflict further.
Meanwhile, the impact on global energy markets continues to mount, with European nations scrambling to secure alternative supplies and reconsidering their energy transition timelines.
The UN’s request for humanitarian passage through the Strait of Hormuz — and Iran’s agreement to facilitate it — offers a narrow diplomatic channel, but falls far short of the broader de-escalation that international observers have called for.
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