Israel struck Iran’s largest petrochemical facility in Asaluyeh on Monday, inflicting major economic damage and shutting down a significant share of the country’s export capacity, Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
The Israeli military said on Monday that it killed Major General Majid Khademi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence organization, in an overnight strike in Tehran.
Pakistan has put forward a ceasefire proposal to Iran and the United States, but Tehran says it is reviewing the plan while rejecting any temporary truce that leaves the threat of renewed war in place, according to Reuters.
US and Israel heavily bombed Tehran and other Iranian cities while Iran struck Haifa as the war entered its sixth week on Monday.
President Donald Trump warned "all hell will reign down" on Iran if it a real to open the Strait of Hormuz was not reached by Tuesday. Tehran rejected the ultimatum.
A senior White House official told NBC News that a proposed 45-day ceasefire in the Iran war was only one of several ideas under discussion and cautioned against treating it as settled.
“It’s one of many things being discussed and POTUS has not signed off on the idea,” the official said.
Trump is scheduled to speak at the White House later in the day.
The Islamic Republic’s embassy in Kabul said it was ready to receive financial donations from Afghan citizens, saying the move came in response to what it described as repeated requests from Afghans to show support during the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The announcement comes amid growing attention over the reported presence inside Iran of Fatemiyoun, the Afghan Shiite militia long tied to the Islamic Republic, as well as Zeynabiyoun and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces.
Images published in recent days by Iranian state media appeared to show those groups inside Iran, prompting questions online about their role and the reason for their presence.
Israel struck Iran’s largest petrochemical facility in Asaluyeh on Monday, causing severe economic damage and taking a major share of the country’s export capacity offline, Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
Katz said the target was a central facility responsible for about half of Iran’s petrochemical production.
He added that the site was struck after an Israeli attack last week on Iran’s second main petrochemical facility.
According to Katz, the two sites, “which together are responsible for about 85% of Iran’s petrochemical exports, have been taken out of use and are not functioning.”
He said the damage amounted to tens of billions of dollars and described the petrochemical sector as a key source of funding for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and Iran’s military buildup.
He added that continued attacks on Israeli civilians would bring deeper economic and strategic costs for Iran.
Utility companies supplying Iran’s Asaluyeh petrochemical hub were hit in a strike on Monday, IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News reported.
Mobin and Damavand companies, which provide electricity, water and oxygen to petrochemical plants in the area, were targeted, according to the report, which added that the South Pars facility did not sustain any damage.
The goal of continuing the war is to push the enemy toward “real regret,” said an Iranian military spokesman on Monday, describing the approach as strategically rational rather than emotional.
“The aim of continuing the war is to bring the enemy to a point of real regret; this may be seen by some as an emotional approach, but in fact it is entirely based on strategic rationality,” Mohammad Akraminia said.
He added that the objective was to prevent future conflicts by raising deterrence to a level where the adversaries would not risk further action against Iran.
The adversaries had so far failed to achieve their objectives, while Iran had responded to threats and, in some cases, carried out reciprocal actions, he said.
A drone attack targeted a US diplomatic facility near Baghdad airport on Monday, with smoke seen rising from the site, Reuters reported, citing security sources.
The Israeli military said on Monday it had killed Kamil Melhem, the artillery commander of the Imam Hussein Division, in an airstrike in Lebanon a day earlier.
The IDF said the strike on Sunday hit the division’s main fire-control headquarters and also killed several other fighters, including aides to division commander Yahya Hussein.
According to the Israeli military, Melhem oversaw artillery fire toward Israel and Israeli troops and was one of the division’s key commanders.
The military said he was also involved in weapons procurement and worked in the office of the division commander.
Israel described the Imam Hussein Division as an Iran-linked force used by the Quds Force to support the so-called Axis of Resistance and carry out attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians.
The IDF said the strike had significantly weakened the division.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel killed Asghar Bakri – aka Yazdan Mir or Commander Bagheri – the head of Unit 840 in Iran’s IRGC-Quds Force, in an overnight operation, according to a post on X.
Netanyahu said Bakri had been responsible for attacks targeting Jews and Israelis around the world. He also said Israel killed Majid Khademi, the head of IRGC intelligence, describing him as a senior figure who had recently taken up the post after his predecessor was killed.
“Whoever acts to murder our citizens, whoever directs terror against the State of Israel, whoever builds the Iranian axis of evil, bears responsibility for his own blood,” Netanyahu said.
He said Israel would keep operating “with strength and determination” on all fronts until the threat was removed and war goals were achieved.
Majid Khademi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence arm killed in Tehran on Sunday, was involved in activities against Israel, the US, and Iranian dissidents, the Israeli military said on Monday.
“Khademi worked to advance terrorist activities against the State of Israel and against Jewish targets worldwide. He also took part in attempts to target American individuals and was responsible for monitoring Iranian civilians as part of the regime’s suppression of internal protests,” read the statement by Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF described him as a key figure in operations directed both abroad and inside Iran.
Iran has drafted its response to proposals conveyed through mediators and will announce it when necessary, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.
Esmaeil Baghaei said negotiations could not take place under threats, warning that US threats to target infrastructure would amount to war crimes.
He added that Iran’s focus remained on defending the country amid ongoing attacks, while diplomacy continued alongside military efforts.
The foreign ministry spokesman said proposals, including a 15-point US plan relayed via Pakistan and other countries, were “excessive, unusual and unreasonable” and not acceptable to Tehran.