Iran ⁠restores some gas production at South Pars facility

Iran has restored gas production at three offshore platforms in the South Pars gasfield, the head of the Pars Oil and Gas Company has told state media, after the facility was attacked by Israel in March.

Touraj Dehqani said on Sunday that the platforms had not been damaged in the attacks, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported.

Dehqani said production ⁠from the three platforms ⁠was being ⁠routed to other processing plants in the region while repairs ‌continued at damaged facilities.

The Israeli military attacked South Pars – part of the world’s largest natural gasfield – in mid-March, prompting retaliatory Iranian missile and drone strikes on energy infrastructure across the wider region.

Israel also attacked Iran’s largest petrochemical facility, the South Pars Petrochemical complex, in the southern coastal area of Asaluyeh, in early April.

Reporting from the Iranian capital Tehran on Sunday, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said the resumption of gas production at South Pars is “significant both symbolically and practically” for Iran.

“Iran is trying to send a message that it is trying to rebuild the targeted facilities,” he said, noting that US-Israeli air strikes also hit much 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 maintained a blockade of Iranian ports as part of a pressure campaign to get Iran to agree to a deal to end the war.

Negotiations between Washington and Tehran continue, but Iran’s chief negotiator said on Sunday that Tehran would not agree to any deal with Washington unless it secures Iran’s full rights.

Located off the coast of Iran’s southern Bushehr province, the South Pars gasfield is the largest source of domestic energy for the country, which often struggles to produce enough electricity.

Spanning 9,700sq km (3,745sq miles), the gasfield is shared between Iran and Qatar, with the Iranian side known as South Pars and the Qatari side called the North Field.