Several petrochemical companies in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan suffered damage to their facilities due to air strikes this Saturday, according to Iranian state media. Combat aircraft bombed the Bu Ali petrochemical complex and the Bandar Imam complex, where some parts of the facilities were damaged, according to the Iranian state agency Tasnim. Likewise, the Special Petrochemical Zone of Mahshahr was also hit in a series of attacks that struck directly at the heart of the region's productive capacity. These companies, as reported by the Argentine News Agency, are considered subsidiaries of the large Iranian petrochemical group Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), a conglomerate that, according to the United States, operates as the engineering arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Due to this link, the U.S. Department of the Treasury had already sanctioned these subsidiaries in 2019. Regarding the human cost of the offensive, the Tasnim agency cited Valiollah Hayati, a law enforcement official in Khuzestan province, who stated there is a 'high potential for victims' following the attacks carried out by the United States and Israel. The reported airstrikes come after one of Iran's largest steel plants was attacked in the city of Isfahan late Wednesday, which, according to state media, further damaged the country's key infrastructure. It is worth noting that the petrochemical industry represents a vital sector for Iran, as it underpins a large part of the manufacturing economy, including the production of plastics, fertilizers, and various daily-use products for the population.
