Iran has attacked Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical complex, IRGC says
April 7 (Reuters) – Iran’s attack on Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical complex, the heart of the kingdom’s downstream sector, is the latest evidence of Tehran’s ability to respond to U.S.-Israeli attacks ahead of a U.S. deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz, the Revolutionary Guard said on Tuesday.
Iran said the attack was in response to attacks on the Asaluyeh petrochemical facilities connected to the South Pars gas field, and multiple explosions reportedly occurred throughout the night.
US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz oil chokepoint by the end of Tuesday or face bombing of civilian infrastructure would be the biggest escalation of the war yet. Iran has warned that it will target similar infrastructure in the Gulf. The closure of Hormuz caused global energy prices to rise.
Iran has demonstrated that it retains the ability to strike targets in neighboring countries and effectively block passage through the Bosphorus, the channel that previously supplied a fifth of global oil supplies.
A sprawling industrial city, Jubail is home to multibillion-dollar joint ventures between state-backed oil giant Saudi Aramco and its petrochemical subsidiary SABIC and Western energy giants.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attacks took place “in response to the crimes committed by the enemy in its attack on (Iran’s) Asaluyeh petrochemical facilities,” which were reportedly hit by multiple explosions overnight.
It was not immediately clear which facility or facilities in Saudi Arabia were hit. Video footage verified by Reuters showed smoke and flames rising from the direction of Jubail.
The Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that it “effectively targeted with medium-range missiles and numerous suicide drones” the Sadara complex, a $20 billion joint venture between Aramco and Dow that closed last week, and other facilities in Jubail, one of which is owned by ExxonMobil.
The Revolutionary Guard said it also hit a petrochemical plant near Juaymah. The facility is stated to be owned by Chevron Phillips, but the company does not appear to have any facilities there, instead it is located in Jubail.
A spokesman for Chevron Phillips Chemical said in a statement on Tuesday that the company was “aware of the reports and can confirm that its facilities in Saudi Arabia are not directly affected.”
Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry earlier said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles launched into the kingdom’s eastern region, adding that debris from the captured missiles fell near energy facilities.
Aramco declined to comment on the attacks reported in Jubail and Juaymah. The Saudi government’s communications office and SABIC did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Ros Russell)
