Iran Rebuilds Oil and Gas Refineries Damaged in US-Israeli Attacks, Says Minister Paknejad

TEHRAN, Sept 5 — Iran has largely rebuilt the oil and gas refining infrastructure damaged during US-Israeli military strikes since Feb 28, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad announced.

Speaking to Shana, the official news platform of the Iranian Oil Ministry, Paknejad confirmed that the nation sustained crude oil exports throughout the conflict.

Addressing the repeated air strikes targeting Kharg Island—home to Iran’s primary oil export terminal—Paknejad revealed that the strategic facility had been struck more than 550 times.

“This island, which covers an area of between 23 and 24 square kilometres (8.9 and 9.3 square miles), was subjected to more than 550 attacks, but our colleagues continued loading oil onto tankers even under bombardment,” he stated.

Paknejad also provided an operational update regarding key oil and gas refining assets situated in southern Iran that were targeted during the air campaign.

“The reconstruction of refineries following such incidents normally begins with removing the rubble,” he explained. “This process began about two to three days after the attacks, and a large portion of the reconstruction work has been completed.”

The minister noted that tangible results from the restoration efforts are expected to become visible in the coming months, emphasizing that Tehran is aiming to scale up domestic gas production.

Regional volatility has intensified since joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran commenced on Feb 28, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory missile and drone operations targeting Israel and US military assets across the Middle East.

Although Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 regarding freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, full implementation remains stalled over unresolved disagreements concerning maritime security protocols.

–NMT