Tehran [Iran], March 28 (ANI): Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Friday (local time) slammed the recent Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and steel plants, warning that Tehran will exact a “HEAVY price” for what he described as crimes by Tel Aviv amid ongoing negotiations to end the West Asia conflict.
In a post on X, Araghchi said that Israel has attacked two Iranian steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites.
He further slammed US President Donald Trump, noting that the attack contradicts the latter’s extended deadline as part of the ongoing negotiations with Tehran to end the war.
“Israel has hit 2 of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites among other infrastructure. Israel claims it acted in coordination with the U.S. Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy. Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes,” Araghchi said.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
In a series of posts on X, the IDF confirmed that it carried out airstrikes on Iran’s Arak heavy water plant and a uranium extraction facility in Yazd as part of Operation “Rising Lion.”
The IDF stated that these strikes targeted key infrastructure used by Iran to produce materials for nuclear weapons, including weapons-grade plutonium and precursor materials for uranium enrichment.
“The Air Force struck the heavy water plant in Arak… Despite explicit international commitments, foremost among them the nuclear deal, the Iranian terrorist regime has systematically refrained from converting the reactor in a manner that would prevent the production of weapons-grade plutonium… Therefore, the IDF has now struck the facility once again,” the IDF stated in a post.
Separately, the IDF said the strike on the uranium extraction facility in Yazd was aimed at disrupting Iran’s nuclear weapons program by targeting central infrastructure for the production of precursor materials.
“Enriched uranium constitutes a central and critical component in nuclear weapons development… The strike on the site detracts from the Iranian terror regime’s ability to obtain the raw material required for these processes,” the IDF stated in a separate post.
Meanwhile, Iranian State Media, Press TV, reported that the US and Israel jointly carried out separate attacks on two major steel companies in Iran’s Isfahan and Khuzestan.
According to Deputy Governor General of Isfahan, Akbar Salehi, the electricity facility of Mobarakeh Steel Company in Mobarakeh was targeted while employees were present, resulting in one death and two injuries, Press TV reported.
In Khuzestan, the Khuzestan Steel Company suffered damage from an aerial strike, leaving 16 individuals with minor injuries, according to Deputy Governor General of Khuzestan, Valiollah Hayati, as reported by Press TV.
On Thursday, Trump stated that he is extending the pause on strikes targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure for an additional 10 days, until April 6, 2026, as part of the ongoing diplomatic talks between the two sides.
In a post on Truth Social, the US President claimed that the announcement comes as per a “request” from the Iranian Government and further stated that the negotiations with Tehran were “going very well”.
“As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time. Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media and others, they are going very well,” the post read. (ANI)