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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps connected Wednesday (March 18, 2026) threatened to people refineries and petrochemical complexes successful Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, pursuing U.S. and Israeli strikes connected state facilities successful Iran’s confederate Bushehr province. This came hours aft Israeli aerial strikes killed Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib, the 3rd high-profile assassination successful 24 hours.
Iran-Israel warfare updates connected March 18, 2026
“Moments ago, parts of the state facilities located successful the South Pars Special Economic Energy Zone successful Asaluyeh were struck by projectiles fired by the American-Zionist enemy,” Iranian authorities tv reported connected Wednesday (March 18, 2026) evening. The South Pars/North Dome mega-field is the largest known state reserve successful the world. Iran had earlier warned that immoderate onslaught connected its vigor infrastructure would trigger retaliatory strikes astatine vigor facilities successful the region.
Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya subject bid said successful a connection that it would “severely onslaught the root of the aggression and see targeting the fuel, vigor and state infrastructure” of the countries from which the attacks were launched. Iran says the U.S. is utilizing its bases successful the Persian Gulf monarchies to motorboat its attacks.
Retaliation targets
The IRGC issued “urgent evacuation” orders for radical surviving adjacent cardinal vigor accumulation facilities successful the 3 Persian Gulf countries. “Five complexes, 2 refineries, 2 petrochemical complexes, and a state tract successful Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates person go present morganatic targets for Iranian retaliation,” the Guards said successful a statement.
The facilities named successful the informing are the Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex successful Saudi Arabia, the Al‑Hosn Gas Field successful the UAE, and the Al‑Mesaieed Holding and Petrochemical Complex, arsenic good arsenic Phases 1 and 2 of the Ras Laffan Refinery successful Qatar.
According to Iran’s Oil Ministry, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeted parts of the refinery installations successful Asaluyeh that process earthy state from South Pars, located connected the maritime borderline betwixt Iran and Qatar. “We person repeatedly warned your leaders against pursuing this unsafe way and dragging their peoples into a large gamble with their fate,” the IRGC said. “Therefore, they carnivore afloat work for each consequences that volition effect from this course.”
Slew of assassinations
Earlier successful the day, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said an overnight onslaught connected Tehran had killed Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib.
“On this day, important surprises are expected crossed each arenas that volition escalate the warfare we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah successful Lebanon,” Mr. Katz said during a information assessment, according to his office. “The strength of the strikes successful Iran is increasing. The Iranian Intelligence Minister Khatib was besides eliminated overnight,” helium said.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that Khatib had been killed. “The cowardly assassination of my beloved colleagues Esmaeil Khatib, Ali Larijani, and Aziz Nasirzadeh, alongside immoderate of their household members and accompanying team, has near america successful heavy mourning,” helium wrote successful a societal media post.
In abstracted strikes connected Monday night, Israel had killed Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, commandant of the Basij paramilitary forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “authorised the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] to [assassinate] immoderate elder Iranian fig without the request for further approval,” Mr. Katz said.
‘Solid governmental structure’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said successful an interrogation that Israel’s assassinations would not destabilise Iran’s governmental system. “I bash not cognize wherefore the Americans and the Israelis inactive person not understood this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a beardown governmental operation with established political, economic, and societal institutions,” Mr. Araghchi told Al Jazeera.
“The beingness oregon lack of a azygous idiosyncratic does not impact this structure,” said Mr. Araghchi. “Of course, individuals are influential, and each idiosyncratic plays their relation – immoderate better, immoderate worse, immoderate little – but what matters is that the governmental strategy successful Iran is simply a precise coagulated structure.”
