‘Hearing loud booms…’: US ambassador takes shelter as Iran targets petrochemical facility in Israel

As Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that it had targeted a petrochemical facility in Israel in retaliation for an earlier strike on a similar site in southwestern Iran, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee said that he has taken shelter as missile alerts echoed across parts of Israel, highlighting the tense security situation.

Reuters reported, citing Israel military official, that Iran has fired almost 30 ballistic missiles at Israel.

Posting on X, Huckabee wrote: “Hearing loud booms overhead, I hope it's an interception. Another day where we live under the threat of a crazed Iranian regime.”

In another post, Huckabee said, "Iran fired missiles at Israel last night & early today. The missile alerts sounded at 6am in Jerusalem. They were intercepted, thank God! Iran & its proxy agents of evil want to incinerate America & Israel. Mothership of Satan is in Tehran."

See the post here:

"The Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in response to the aggression of the American-Zionist enemy against a petrochemical industry facility, targeted similar industrial facilities in Haifa with missile strikes a few moments ago," the Guards' official media outlet Sepah News said.

They also warned that Israel "has initiated a dangerous game, the scope of which will encompass all energy-related targets in the region", blaming the US for any consequences for the global economy, AFP reported.

Here's what Iranian foreign minister said

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, adding that Tehran and Washington continue to exchange messages amid an atmosphere of “extreme suspicion.”

Baghaei said Israel's actions in Lebanon, whether carried out with U.S. knowledge and consent or not, were aimed at sabotaging diplomacy. He said Washington, as a party to the April 8 ceasefire, bore direct responsibility for any violations, including attacks attributed to Israel, and he added that the world should be concerned about a broader regional conflict, Reuters reported.

"The United States bears direct responsibility for any action the Zionist regime (Israel) takes in relation to violating 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 meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors, warning that Tehran had measures prepared in response. He also accused International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi of ignoring the realities of the conflict and holding politically biased views that, he said, undermined the agency’s credibility.

(With inputs from agencies)