Amid Rising Tensions, Israel Plans Strikes on Iran Energy Facilities

Amid Rising Tensions, Israel Plans Strikes on Iran Energy Facilities

Israel is preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities but is awaiting a green light from the United States, a senior Israeli defence official said on Saturday, adding that any such attacks would likely come within the next week.

The comments came after US President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum, sharpening focus on whether Washington would back further Israeli military action against Iran.

“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them. Glory be to GOD!” he said in a post on Truth Social.

The war has killed thousands, sparked an energy crisis and threatened lasting damage to the world economy. Iran has virtually shut the ​Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

Iran has rained drones and missiles down on Israel, and also taken aim at Gulf countries allied to the US, which have so far held back from joining the war directly for fear of further escalation.

Iranian state TV said its military had launched drones at US radar installations and a US-linked aluminium plant in the United Arab Emirates and U.S. military headquarters in Kuwait in retaliation for deadly attacks on Iranian industrial centres.

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Iran earlier attacked an Israel-affiliated vessel with a drone in the strait, setting the ship on fire, state media said, citing the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ navy.’

Iran Touts New Air Defence Systems

The downing of two US warplanes shows the risks still facing US and Israeli aircraft, despite assertions by Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that US forces had total control of the skies over Iran.

Iranian fire brought down a two-seat US F-15E jet, officials in both countries said on Friday, and a US official said search-and-rescue efforts had recovered one of the crew.

Two Black Hawk helicopters engaged in the search for the missing crew member were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, the two US officials told Reuters.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing a southwestern area near where the pilot’s plane came down, while the regional governor promised a commendation for anyone who captured or killed “forces of the hostile enemy.”

In a separate incident, an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft was hit and crashed over Kuwait, with the pilot ejecting, the US officials said.

Iranians, pummelled by air power since the US and Israel began their attacks, celebrated their success.

The Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command said it used a new air-defence system on Friday, which targeted a US fighter jet, three drones and two cruise missiles.

“The enemy should know that we rely on new air-defence systems built by the young, knowledgeable, and proud people of this country, unveiling them one after another in the field,” a Khatam al-Anbiya spokesperson said, according to Iran’s state media.

The Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted various areas in Israel in a wave of missiles and drones. Israeli media reported that two warheads from an Iranian cluster missile landed near Israel’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Later on Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces said they had detected more missiles launched from Iran towards Israel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)