DUBAI: Iran on Tuesday brought under control a fire at its Shadegan oilfield which was caused by an apparent act of sabotage, a local oil company official told state television.
The fire was caused early on Tuesday after “tampering by unknown elements,” but it was quickly brought under control, Qobad Nasseri, head of the Maroon Oil and Gas Production Company which exploits Shadegan, told state television.
The oilfield is located in the oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province, home to Iran’s Arab minority, which has long been the scene of anti-government unrest.
Attacks are rare in Iran, but a number of sensitive military and nuclear sites have been targeted in recent years.
Iran has accused Israel of several attacks on facilities and scientists linked to its nuclear program. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed the allegations.
Nasseri said: “The situation is completely under control and there is no cause for concern... The damage is being evaluated but the field will return to production shortly.”
The fire apparently occurred at one of some 20 active wells in the Shadegan field, which has an estimated total production capacity of about 70,000 barrels per day.
Iran controls fire at southern oilfield after apparent sabotage
https://arab.news/bywxg
Iran controls fire at southern oilfield after apparent sabotage
- The oilfield is located in the oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province
The West Bank soccer field slated for demolition by Israel
- The move is likely to eliminate one of the few spaces where Palestinian children are able to run and play
BETHLEHEM: Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of a soccer field in a crowded refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, eliminating one of the few spaces where Palestinian children are able to run and play.
“If the field gets demolished, this will destroy our dreams and our future. We cannot play any other place but this field, the camp does not have spaces,” said Rital Sarhan, 13, who plays on a girls’ soccer team in the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem.
The Israeli military issued a demolition order for the soccer field on December 31, saying it was built illegally in an area that abuts the concrete barrier wall that Israel built in the West Bank.
“Along the security fence, a seizure order and a construction prohibition order are in effect; therefore, the construction in the area was carried out unlawfully,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Mohammad Abu Srour, an administrator at Aida Youth Center, which manages the field, said the military gave them seven days to demolish the field.
The Israeli military often orders Palestinians to carry out demolitions themselves. If they do not act, the military steps in to destroy the structure in question and then sends the Palestinians a bill for the costs.
According to Abu Srour, Israel’s military told residents when delivering the demolition order that the soccer field represented a threat to the separation wall and to Israelis.
“I do not know how this is possible,” he said.
Israeli demolitions have drawn widespread international criticism and coincide with heightened fears among Palestinians of an organized effort by Israel to formally annex the West Bank, the area seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel accelerated demolitions in Palestinian refugee camps in early 2025, leading to the displacement of 32,000 residents of camps in the central and northern West Bank. Human Rights Watch has called the demolitions a war crime. Israel has said they are intended to disrupt militant activity.
