Over 2,000 Iranian power grid sites hit in US-Israeli attacks

More than 2,000 locations within Iran’s electricity infrastructure were struck during the recent US-Israeli military campaign, a senior Iranian official revealed on Wednesday. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, deputy energy minister for electricity and energy, said 12 power sector employees lost their lives in the attacks, which he described as deliberate attempts to disrupt critical civilian infrastructure. “Attacking electricity infrastructure is an attack on the people,” he told the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Despite the scale of the damage, Rajabi Mashhadi noted that power outages were restored in less than an hour in most cases, thanks to the efforts of approximately 150,000 workers in the electricity sector, including 30,000 on duty around the clock.

Civilian casualties

Separately, Aladdin Rafizadeh, head of Iran’s Administrative and Recruitment Affairs Organization, told state news agency IRNA that 68 administrative personnel were killed while on duty during the war. The remarks underscore the human toll of the US-Israeli strikes, which have targeted not only military sites but also energy infrastructure. US President Donald Trump had previously warned that if no nuclear deal was reached, he would target Iranian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges.

Ceasefire and diplomatic context

Regional tensions escalated after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Iranian retaliation against US assets across the Middle East. A two-week ceasefire was announced on April 8, followed by rare direct talks between Washington and Tehran in Islamabad on April 11-12, which ended without an agreement. The ceasefire was later extended as diplomatic efforts continue, though tensions remain high.