REUTERS: RGC says attacks in response to strikes on Iran's Asaluyeh plants / Smoke and flames rising from the direction of Saudi's Jubail
April 7 (Reuters) - Iran on Tuesday attacked Saudi Arabia's Jubail petrochemical complex, the heart of the kingdom's downstream sector, its Revolutionary Guards said, the latest evidence of Tehran's ability to strike back in response to U.S.-Israeli attacks ahead of a U.S. deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said the attack was in response to attacks against its Asaluyeh petrochemical plants, which are connected to its massive South Pars gas field and were reportedly hit by multiple explosions overnight.
U.S. President Donald Trump's ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz oil chokepoint by the end of Tuesday or face bombing of civilian infrastructure would be the biggest escalation yet of the war. Iran has warned it would target similar infrastructure in the Gulf. Hormuz's closure has sent global energy prices surging.
Iran has shown it retains the ability to strike targets in neighbouring countries and effectively shut transit through the Strait, previously a conduit for a fifth of global oil supply.
Jubail, a sprawling industrial city, houses multi-billion dollar joint ventures between state-backed oil giant Saudi Aramco and its petrochemical subsidiary SABIC, and Western energy majors.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attacks were "in response to the enemy's crimes in the aggression against (Iran's) Asaluyeh petrochemical plants," which had reportedly been hit by several explosions overnight.
It was not immediately clear which facility or facilities were hit in Saudi Arabia. Video footage verified by Reuters showed smoke and flames rising from the direction of Jubail. » | Reuters | Tuesday, April 7, 2026
