Tensions escalate as Israel strikes key Iranian oil and gas sites, including the South Pars field, a first in decades of conflict. This action follows earlier exchanges of attacks, resulting in casualties on both sides.

Meanwhile, the hit on the Fajr-e Jam Gas Refinery, in Bushehr province, threatens to disrupt Iran’s domestic electricity and fuel supplies, particularly for the southern and central provinces, which are already under huge stress. In Iran, blackouts cost the economy about $250m a day, according to the government’s estimates.

Iran has partially suspended production at the South Pars gas field — the world’s largest — after an Israeli airstrike triggered a fire at the site, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on June 14,