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Iran Denies Claims Of Israeli Attack On Key Refinery, Names New Aerospace Chief
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A new wave of Israeli strikes was reported near a key refinery in the Iranian city of Tabriz. However, the refinery denied any attack and confirmed full operational status.
A new wave of Israeli strikes was reported near a key refinery in the Iranian city of Tabriz on Saturday, according to several reports, as hostilities between the two arch-enemies continued for a second day.
Iranian state media Mehr News Agency reported that the strike occurred near the Tabriz Oil Refinery, and stated that there was smoke rising. Tabriz came under heavy fire on Friday, with Israeli troops destroying a military base there.
While several videos surfaced on social media showing the refinery up in flames, Iran's Tabriz Oil Refining Company denied reports of Israeli attacks and confirmed full operational status, according to the IRNA News Agency.
🚨BREAKING: The Tabriz Oil Refinery Is Up In Smoke Following An Israeli Airstrike — Shelley G (@ShelleyGldschmt) June 13, 2025
The Israeli military launched an unprecedented attack on Iran as part of Operation Rising Lion and destroyed dozens of Iranian military targets, including the Tabriz airbase, according to The Jerusalem Post. Additional targets included the Hamadan air base and the regime's air defense system, unmanned aerial vehicles, and surface-to-surface missile launchers.
Iran Names New Aerospace Chief
Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed a new head of the Revolutionary Guards air arm on Saturday to replace the one killed by an Israeli strike. Khamenei appointed Majid Mousavi to replace Amirali Hajizadeh as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' aerospace force.
Israel's sweeping attack across Iran struck at the heart of Tehran's nuclear programme and wiped out most of its military leadership, delivering a blow to the country's ability to enrich uranium and potentially setting its nuclear ambitions back by months or years.
Additionally, the Israel Air Force and Israel Navy had intercepted dozens of UAVs launched from Iran to Israel between Friday and Saturday. However, three people were killed and 70 wounded in Israel after Iran launched over a hundreds of ballistic missile barrages.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed retaliation, stating that Israel would not be allowed to do 'hit and run" attacks without grave consequences. Tehran launched the 'True Promise 3 operation' on Friday night and fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel.
Israeli Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said that Iran 'crossed red lines after it dared to fire missiles at civilian population concentrations in Israel". He later warned that 'Tehran will burn" if Iran fires any more missiles.
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