An Iranian missile strike caused a fire at an oil refinery in Israel’s key port city of Haifa on Wednesday morning, according to initial reports. The blaze is believed to have started after debris from the missile fell on the facility. It was not immediately clear whether the fire had been brought under control, and no casualties were reported at the time of publication.
Air raid sirens sounded across northern and central Israel, including Jerusalem, shortly before the fire was reported. The Haifa refinery has previously been targeted during periods of Iran-Israel tension, including damage sustained during a 12-day conflict between the United States and Iran last year.
The attack followed an earlier Israeli airstrike on a petrochemical complex at Iran’s South Pars gas field, one of the world’s largest, partly controlled by Qatar. In response, Iran reportedly launched retaliatory strikes on energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, with fires breaking out at Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex.