‘I hear a loud rumbling…’: US ambassador takes cover as Iran attacks petrochemical facility in Israel | Today’s news
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday it had targeted a petrochemical facility in Israel in retaliation for an earlier attack on a similar site in southwestern Iran, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he took cover as rocket warnings rang out in parts of Israel, underscoring the tense security situation.
Reuters, citing an Israeli military official, said Iran fired nearly 30 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Huckabee wrote on X: “I hope I hear a loud rumble overhead. I hope it’s a capture. Another day living under the threat of a crazy Iranian regime.”
In another post, Huckabee said: “Iran fired missiles at Israel last night and early today. Missile alarms went off at 6am in Jerusalem. They were intercepted, thank God! Iran and its evil proxies want to burn America and Israel. Mother Satan is in Tehran.”
“In response to the aggression of the US-Zionist enemy against the facilities of the petrochemical industry, the Air and Space Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps targeted similar industrial facilities in Haifa a few moments ago,” the Guards’ official media server Sepah News reported.
They also warned that Israel had “started a dangerous game whose scope will include all energy-related targets in the region”, blaming the US for any consequences for the global economy, AFP reported.
Here’s what Iran’s foreign minister had to say
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, adding that Tehran and Washington continue to exchange messages in an atmosphere of “extreme suspicion”.
Baghaei said that Israel’s actions in Lebanon, whether carried out with the knowledge and consent of the US or not, were aimed at sabotaging diplomacy. He said Washington, as a party to the April 8 ceasefire, bears direct responsibility for any violations, including attacks attributed to Israel, and added that the world should be concerned about a wider regional conflict, Reuters reported.
“The United States bears direct responsibility for any action taken by the Zionist regime (Israel) in relation to violations of regional peace and security against Iran,” Baghaei said.
Separately, Baghaei said Iran would respond to any resolution passed against the country during this week’s UN nuclear watchdog meeting of the Governing Council, warning that Tehran had prepared measures in response. He also accused the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, of ignoring the reality of the conflict and holding politically biased views that he said undermined the agency’s credibility.
(With input from agencies)
