At least one person was killed and 14 others injured on Saturday after an explosion ripped through the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, according to local officials, sparking renewed anxiety in a country already gripped by unrest and geopolitical tension.
The cause of the blast remained unclear hours after it occurred, with Iranian media reporting that investigations were under way but offering few details.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency moved swiftly to dismiss speculation circulating on social media that the explosion had targeted a senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval forces, describing such claims as completely false.
The blast in Bandar Abbas came on the same day as a separate deadly incident elsewhere in the country. In the southwestern city of Ahvaz, near the Iraqi border, four people were killed in a gas explosion, according to the state-run Tehran Times.
Israeli officials were quoted by local media as saying that Israel had no involvement in Saturday’s explosions, which occurred against the backdrop of sharply heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. Relations have deteriorated further in recent weeks over Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests and renewed disputes surrounding its nuclear programme.
Adding to the unease, US President Donald Trump said on 22 January that an “armada” was heading towards Iran, while multiple sources reported on Friday that he was weighing a range of options, including targeted strikes against Iranian security forces. The rhetoric has fuelled fears of escalation at a time when Iran is already facing significant internal pressure.
Last Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States, Israel and European leaders of exploiting Iran’s economic difficulties, encouraging unrest and providing citizens with the means to “tear the nation apart”. His comments reflected the increasingly confrontational tone adopted by Tehran as protests continue to challenge the authority of the country’s clerical leadership.
Bandar Abbas occupies a place of particular strategic importance. The city hosts Iran’s most vital container port and sits on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but crucial waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes. Any disruption in the area is closely watched by global markets and foreign governments alike.
The port has a history of deadly incidents. In April last year, a major explosion there killed dozens of people and left more than 1,000 injured. An official investigative committee later blamed that disaster on failures to adhere to civil defence and security protocols.
Iran has been shaken for months by nationwide protests that erupted in December over worsening economic conditions, evolving into one of the most serious challenges faced by the Islamic Republic in years.
According to an Iranian official, at least 5,000 people have been killed during the unrest, including around 500 members of the security forces, underscoring the scale of the crisis confronting the country.