Gas Explosions Kill Five in Iran Cities, Injure 14 Others

Five people died and 14 others were hurt in gas explosions that hit two cities in Iran on Saturday. The blasts took place in Bandar Abbas, a port city in the south, and Ahvaz in the southwest. Iranian officials say gas leaks caused both events. No one has claimed responsibility, and foreign powers have denied involvement.

Background

Iran has seen a number of explosions in recent years, often linked to industrial accidents or gas problems. These latest blasts come just days after large protests that started in late December 2025. Those protests led to many deaths when authorities cracked down hard. The country still feels tension from those events.

Bandar Abbas sits on the Strait of Hormuz, a key spot for world oil shipping. The city hosts naval bases for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. Ahvaz is an oil-rich area with factories and homes close together. Both places have old buildings and gas lines that sometimes fail.

Saturday's incidents happened as the IRGC got ready for live-fire naval drills in the strait. The U.S. military warned the IRGC to keep things safe for ships passing through. Such exercises often draw attention from other countries in the region.

Key Details

Bandar Abbas Blast

In Bandar Abbas, one person died and 14 were injured in a blast at an eight-floor building. The explosion damaged the first three floors, broke windows, and wrecked nearby cars and shops. Fire crews and rescue teams rushed to the scene.

Local officials point to a gas leak as the cause. The fire chief said all residents got out safely, and teams are checking what went wrong.

"Residents and those injured in the explosion of a residential building in Bandar Abbas have evacuated the building, and our colleagues are looking to discover the cause of the incident," the Bandar Abbas Fire Chief told reporters.

Social media posts at first claimed the IRGC navy headquarters was hit, or that a top commander named Alireza Tangsiri was targeted. The IRGC quickly denied this. They said no drones attacked their bases and no buildings linked to them took damage. State media called those reports false.

Ahvaz Blast

Over in Ahvaz, a gas explosion in a four-unit building killed four family members: a father, mother, and their two children. The fire department chief confirmed the deaths came from the Kianshahr area.

"Following a gas explosion in a four-unit building in Kianshahr, four members of a family, including the father, mother, and their two children, lost their lives," Ahvaz's Fire Department chief said.

State media described it as another gas leak. Rescue workers pulled out the injured and put out the fire. No other buildings nearby were hurt badly.

Reports from Other Areas

People also reported blasts or smoke in Karaj, west of Tehran, and in the Parand neighborhood near the capital. The local governor in Robat Karim said no explosion happened in Parand. He blamed thick smoke on a fire in dry reed beds by the Shur River. Officials told residents not to worry and said they are looking into it as possible environmental damage.

What This Means

These explosions raise questions about safety in Iran's gas systems. Many buildings, especially in older city areas, use natural gas for cooking and heating. Leaks happen when pipes wear out or get poor maintenance. Experts have warned for years that aging infrastructure could lead to more accidents like this.

The timing, right before IRGC drills, fueled online rumors of sabotage. But officials from Israel said they had no role. Two Israeli sources told reporters their country was not involved. A security contact added that neither Israel nor the U.S. is active in the area now, calling it an internal matter. The Pentagon has not commented.

For families in Bandar Abbas and Ahvaz, the loss hits hard. The deaths in Ahvaz took a whole family, leaving neighbors to deal with the grief. In Bandar Abbas, the injured face hospital stays and repairs to their homes.

Iran's government now faces pressure to check gas lines across cities. Past blasts have led to promises of fixes, but problems keep coming back. With protests fresh in memory, any big incident draws extra eyes from inside and outside the country.

The naval exercises go on as planned. Ships from other nations watch closely to avoid trouble in the busy strait. For now, Iranian teams focus on cleanup and cause checks. Families mourn, and officials work to calm fears of more blasts.