US-Israeli strike on Isfahan factory kills at least 15 civilian workers — heater and refrigerator plant

A US-Israeli airstrike hit a factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Saturday, killing at least 15 workers who were inside the facility at the time, Iran's state news agency Fars reported. Several others were injured. The factory produces heaters and refrigerators — civilian consumer goods. Isfahan is Iran's third-largest city and a major industrial and cultural center. It hosts significant defense-industrial infrastructure including Isfahan Steel Company (used in weapons manufacturing), missile component factories, and aerospace facilities near its airport — which has been struck earlier in the conflict. The proximity of civilian manufacturing to defense-industrial sites in Isfahan creates dual-use classification challenges. However, a factory explicitly producing domestic heating and cooling appliances presents a difficult legal case for military necessity targeting. The IDF's standard justification — that facilities are dual-use or located near IRGC assets — will face scrutiny in this case, as there is no obvious military purpose for a heater and refrigerator plant. The killing of 15 civilian workers inside a factory is among the highest single-incident civilian death tolls from a named facility in the conflict. It will reinforce calls from European governments, the UN, and humanitarian organizations for an independent investigation into targeting practices.