Israel knocked out the backbone of Iran's petrochemical industry in two waves of airstrikes over four days, shutting down facilities that handle roughly 85% of the country's petrochemical exports.
The first wave hit the Mahshahr complex in Khuzestan Province on Saturday. The second landed at the South Pars gas field on Sunday afternoon. Between them, they severed Iran's single largest non-oil revenue source at its root.
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Mahshahr: the lights went out
Israeli jets struck the Port Mahshahr Special Economic Zone at roughly 10:47 a.m. local time on Saturday, April 4. The primary targets were not the 50-plus factories themselves but the two power stations that feed them. Fajr 1 and Fajr 2 generate the electricity, steam, and treated water that every plant in the zone depends on.
The strikes also damaged the Rejal and Amir Kabir plants nearby. At least five people were killed and around 170 wounded, according to Iranian state media.
By hitting the utilities rather than each factory individually, Israel shut down the entire complex with a handful of strikes. Electricity across the zone went dark. Turbines stopped. Two senior Iranian oil ministry officials confirmed to i24NEWS that all production had ceased.
Mahshahr sits at the head of the Persian Gulf in southwestern Iran. Before the strikes, the zone produced everything from methanol and urea to polyethylene, all of it feeding Iran's export pipeline to China, India, and Southeast Asia.
South Pars: going after the gas
Two days later, at around 2:10 p.m. local time on Sunday, Israel hit the South Pars petrochemical complex at Asaluyeh on the southern coast. Israeli warplanes hit four targets inside the complex: the Jam and Damavand production plants, and the Mobin and Damavand power stations that supply them.
South Pars sits on top of the world's largest natural gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar. The complex accounts for about half of Iran's total petrochemical output. The strike halted production across the site.
Israel also used the raid to kill two senior IRGC commanders. Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, head of the IRGC Intelligence Directorate since June 2025, was killed at the site. So was Yazdan Mir, known by his alias Asghar Bakeri, who ran Unit 840, the Quds Force branch responsible for overseas operations against Israeli targets. Israel's defense minister confirmed both kills.
Why petrochemicals matter
Iran's petrochemical sector brings in roughly $15 billion a year, making it the country's second-largest foreign currency earner after crude oil. Unlike oil exports, which have been crippled by sanctions and now by the Hormuz blockade, petrochemicals had kept flowing because many of the products moved overland or through ports outside the strait.
Losing 85% of that capacity in a weekend changes Iran's financial calculus. Officials told Haaretz and The National that rebuilding the Fajr utility plants and restoring the South Pars facilities could take roughly two years.
The timing is not accidental. The strikes landed hours before Trump's Tuesday deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and one day after Tehran rejected a 45-day ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey. By going after the petrochemical sector, Israel squeezed Iran's economy from a second direction while the Hormuz closure already choked its oil revenue.
Shared field, separate risk
South Pars is one half of a geological formation that extends across the maritime border into Qatari waters, where it is called the North Dome field. Qatar's operations sit on the other side and were not targeted. But the proximity raises questions about long-term damage to reservoir infrastructure that neither country can easily assess during wartime.
Qatar has already lost significant LNG capacity after Iranian drone strikes hit the Ras Laffan complex in March. Adding damage to the shared gas field would compound what the IEA has called the worst energy supply disruption in history.
What comes next
Iran's options for retaliation are narrowing. The Hormuz blockade remains its strongest card, but the strait is already closed. Crude exports were already frozen. Now the petrochemical revenue stream is gone too.
Trump's Tuesday deadline looms. If Iran does not reopen the strait by 8 p.m. eastern time, the president has threatened strikes on power plants and bridges. Israel's petrochemical campaign suggests the infrastructure war is already well underway, with or without that deadline.