Saturday 31 / January / 2026
At least one person was killed and 14 were injured in an explosion in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim.
The blast hit an eight-storey residential building, with state television reporting that the blast destroyed "two floors, several vehicles, and shops" in the area of Moallem Boulevard in the city.
The semi-official Mehr news agency, citing the local fire department chief, said that the explosion at the building in the port city in the Persian Gulf was caused by a gas leak.
Earlier, Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted the crisis management director for Hormozgan province, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, as saying the investigation into the cause of the explosion was ongoing.
What do we know about the explosion?
Following online rumors, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said none of the buildings belonging to its naval forces in the province were targeted, according to a statement carried by the Fars news agency.
Separately, state-run Tehran Times reported that a gas explosion in the city of Ahvaz near the Iraqi border left four people dead. Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not involved in Saturday's blasts.
The incidents came at a sensitive moment in relations between Washington and Tehran, after the US sent an aircraft carrier group into the area.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump again issued threats against Iran, calling on Tehran to come to an agreement on its nuclear program.
