Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran

Tehran, Jan 31: At least one person was killed and 14 others injured after a powerful explosion struck the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday (Jan 31), Iranian news agencies reported. The cause of the blast remains unknown.

State television said the explosion occurred in an eight-storey building on Moallem Boulevard, destroying two floors and damaging several vehicles and shops in the surrounding area. Rescue and firefighting teams rushed to the spot and relief operations were underway.

The official IRNA news agency quoted Hormozgan province crisis management director general Mehrdad Hassanzadeh as saying the cause of the explosion was being investigated. Visuals aired on state TV showed the building’s facade blown out, with debris scattered across the area.

Amid rumours circulating online, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denied that any buildings linked to its naval forces in the province had been targeted, according to a statement carried by Fars news agency.

In a separate incident on the same day, Iranian media reported that four people were killed in a gas explosion in the Kianshahr neighbourhood of Ahvaz in the southwestern Khuzestan province, with crews working to clear rubble and rescue those trapped.

The blasts come at a time of heightened tensions involving Tehran and Washington. Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not involved in Saturday’s incidents. Bandar Abbas, Iran’s key container port, lies along the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a significant share of the world’s seaborne oil passes.