Iran has agreed to expedite the safe passage of humanitarian and agricultural shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following a request from the United Nations, its envoy said Friday.
Ali Bahreini said Tehran has accepted a request from the U.N to allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the critical waterway.
“This measure reflects Iran’s continued commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts and ensuring that essential aid reaches those in need without delay,” Bahreini said in a post on X.
The U.N. earlier announced a task force to address the ripple effects the Iran war has had on the passage of aid.
The announcement came just hours after Iranian state media said two nuclear facilities had come under attack. Israel, which had threatened to “escalate and expand” its campaign against Tehran, claimed responsibility, and Iran quickly threatened to retaliate.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said the Shahid Khondab Heavy Water Complex in Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake production plant in Yazd Province were targeted, IRNA reported. The strikes did not cause any casualties and there was no risk of contamination, it said. The Arak plant has not been operational since Israel attacked it last June.
Yellowcake is a concentrated form of uranium after impurities are removed from the raw ore. Heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned Iran would retaliate for the attacks, IRNA reported. Seyed Majid Moosavi, IRGC’s Aerospace Force commander, posted on X that employees of companies tied to the U.S. and Israel should abandon their workplaces.
“You tested us once before; the world has once again seen that you yourselves started playing with fire and attacking infrastructure,” he said. “This time, the equation will no longer be ‘an eye for an eye,’ just wait.”
