File Photo: Screengrab of a social media video appearing to show the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure in Tehran. Photo: X
"We produce electricity in a spread-out way in several places, unlike the countries of the Persian Gulf or the Zionist regime, where production is centralised and very vulnerable," Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said, referring to Iran's Gulf neighbours and Israel.
"We have more than 150 power plants across the country," he added, as the Middle East war dragged into its fourth week.
His remarks came days after US President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran's energy infrastructure if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which a fifth of global crude oil transits.
Tehran responded to the threat, saying it would hammer the infrastructure of Israel and US allies in the region, raising the prospect of an extreme disruption to global energy supplies.
The American-Israeli war and Iran’s curbs on the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil, along with recent attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf, are rippling through the world’s economy.
The international benchmark for crude oil hit $114 a barrel on Monday and was trading above $104 on Tuesday.
Iran has allowed several friendly countries, including China, India, and Pakistan, to ensure safe passage for their vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, while restricting access for the United States, Israel, and their allies.
“The Strait of Hormuz is open, it is only closed to the tankers and ships belonging to our enemies, to those who are attacking us and their allies. Others are free to pass,” Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.
In a bombshell announcement on Monday, Trump said the US had engaged in "very good" talks to end the war, though Iran denied any dialogue had taken place.
Iranian media reported Tuesday that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after US President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure.
"As part of the ongoing attacks carried out by the Zionist and American enemy, the gas administration building and the gas pressure regulation station on Kaveh Street in Isfahan were targeted," said the Fars news agency.
The facilities in central Iran were "partially damaged", added Fars.
It said an attack also targeted the gas pipeline of the Khorramshahr power plant, in the country's southwest.
"A projectile hit the area outside the Khorramshahr gas pipeline processing station," Fars reported, quoting the governor of the city bordering Iraq.
It did not specify the extent of the damage.
US-Israeli strikes have already hit Iranian facilities at a major gas field, which supplies around 70 percent of Iran's domestic natural gas.
Trump told AFP on Monday that "things are going very well" with Iran, shortly after announcing talks with Tehran and a five-day pause on targeting the Islamic Republic's power plants.
Trump's abrupt shift on Iran came hours before the expiration of a two-day ultimatum under which he threatened to attack Iranian power plants.
Iranian media, however, said on Monday that there were no negotiations underway towards ending the war.
The parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said "no negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," he wrote on X.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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