Iran Restarts Gas Output at South Pars After Israeli Attacks

Iran has brought gas production back online at three offshore platforms in the South Pars gasfield, according to the head of the Pars Oil and Gas Company, after Israel targeted the site in March.

Touraj Dehqani told state media on Sunday that the three platforms themselves were not damaged during the attacks, Iran's IRNA news agency reported. He said gas from those platforms is now being sent to other processing facilities in the area as repair work continues at sites that were hit.

The Israeli military struck South Pars in mid-March. The field forms part of the world's largest natural gas reserve. Iran later answered with missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure across the wider region.

In early April, Israel also hit the South Pars Petrochemical complex in Asaluyeh, a southern coastal area. That complex is Iran's largest petrochemical facility.

Reporting from Tehran on Sunday, Al Jazeera's Tohid Asadi said the return of production at South Pars is "significant both symbolically and practically" for Iran. He said Tehran is seeking to show that damaged facilities are being restored, while noting that US-Israeli air strikes also damaged broad sections of the country's infrastructure, including oil depots in the capital.

"When we are talking about South Pars, we are talking about one of the most – if not the most – important energy facility in the country," Asadi said. "Its reopening is, of course, an important first step forward. However, we have to wait and see whether Iran will be as successful when it comes to exporting its energy."

US President Donald Trump's administration has kept a blockade on Iranian ports as part of its pressure campaign to push Tehran into accepting an agreement to end the war.

Talks between Washington and Tehran are still under way. However, Iran's chief negotiator said on Sunday that Tehran would not accept any arrangement with Washington unless Iran's full rights are guaranteed.

South Pars sits off Iran's southern Bushehr province and is the country's biggest source of domestic energy, at a time when Iran often has difficulty generating enough electricity. The field covers 9,700 square kilometres, or 3,745 square miles, and is shared with Qatar. Iran's section is called South Pars, while Qatar's side is known as the North Field.