Tehran woke to a choking grey dawn after a wave of Israeli airstrikes slammed into Iran’s oil refineries overnight, setting multiple facilities ablaze and sending thick smoke rolling over the capital and surrounding provinces, officials and witnesses say.

Residents in western Tehran reported a low roar of jets shortly after 2:00 a.m., followed by deep explosions in the distance. By sunrise, a dark pall stretched across the skyline as fires raged at refineries and fuel depots along the main pipeline corridors southwest of the city. Videos show columns of flame shooting dozens of metres into the air, with orange glow visible from central districts.

Israeli security sources, speaking off the record, describe the strikes as a “strategic blow” against the “financial engine” of Iran’s missile and drone programme, claiming F‑35s and stand‑off missiles hit cracking units, pumping stations and storage farms at several key complexes. Iranian state media concedes “serious damage” at two major refineries but insists production will be restored “within days.”

On the ground, firefighters battle towering infernos amid fears of secondary blasts, while hospitals treat burn and smoke‑inhalation victims from nearby towns. Environmental officials warn of toxic fallout as soot and chemical particles drift over densely populated suburbs.

Global markets reacted instantly: oil prices spiked, insurers hiked war‑risk premiums for tankers near the Gulf, and traders warned that any prolonged outage at Iran’s refineries could rattle already‑fragile energy supplies.

Tehran vows “crushing retaliation” on Israeli and allied energy infrastructure, raising the spectre of a wider oil war. As thick smoke still blankets Tehran, the world is left asking whether this strike has crippled Iran’s war chest—or lit a fuse that could set the entire global economy on fire.