Iran strikes Israeli chemical complex linked to white phosphorus production

The Islamic Republic has escalated its retaliatory drone and missile operations against Israel in the last few days  

News Desk - The Cradle

An Iranian ballistic missile made direct impact at the ICL Rotem chemical complex in the Negev on 25 March, causing a large blast and the outbreak of a fire near the site. 

The facility is located in the Rotem Industrial Zone near Dimona, and houses infrastructure belonging to several industrial and technology companies, including ICL Rotem, which supplies white phosphorous to the US military, according to research compiled by Resistance News Network (RNN). 

Footage of the missile impact site was geolocated to the facility. Damage to a structure was reported.

“The phosphate extracted from the Rotem site is exported to several ICL facilities in the United States. Most dangerously, ICL is the sole supplier of white phosphorus to the US military, internationally-banned munitions used by the occupation army in Gaza and Lebanon to burn homes, bodies, and agricultural lands,” RNN reported, adding that the “only source of uranium in occupied Palestine is the Dead Sea phosphate ICL has exclusive rights to.”

ICL Group is the largest chemicals company in Israel. It was owned by the Israeli government until the 1990s, and holds exclusive rights to extract Palestinian resources from the Dead Sea until 2030, as the sea’s water levels continue to decline at an alarming pace.

The phosphate extracted at Rotem is exported to several ICL-linked facilities abroad, including in the US. It is a supplier of white phosphorus – used by Israeli forces against civilians in Lebanon and Gaza – to the US military, according to RNN’s research. 

The attack comes as part of a recent string of major retaliatory missile operations by the Islamic Republic. 

Earlier on Wednesday, an Iranian missile struck the vicinity of the Orot Rabin Power Plant in Hadera.

An Iranian missile made impact in the northern city of Safad on Tuesday evening, with Al Jazeera reporting heavy Israeli military censorship over the incident. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it hit satellite sites linked to the Israeli army. 

Tehran has escalated its massive and unprecedented campaign of retaliatory strikes on Israel and US military assets across the region. It has also closed the Strait of Hormuz to Washington and its allies and has targeted vessels attempting to cross in violation of its warnings.

US military bases in Bahrain, Iraq, and elsewhere in the region have been battered by Iranian drones and missiles.