Bandar Abbas, Iran. A powerful explosion hit an eight-story building in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, damaging lower floors and shattering windows. Officials said 14 people were injured and a 4-year-old girl was killed.
Bandar Abbas investigation and official responses
Hormozgan’s Crisis Management Organisation said investigations into the cause of the incident at a residential complex were ongoing.
Unofficial sources claimed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC Navy, was the target, but Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, denied the reports as “completely false.” Israel denied any involvement, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Some domestic sources attributed the incident to a gas leak, while local reports said the building was not equipped with gas piping.
Conflicting details about the site
While official sources described the site as a residential building, videos filmed by passersby minutes after the incident showed barbed wire installed on the compound’s courtyard walls, typically used at military facilities.
The IRGC Navy’s public relations office said no drone attack occurred on its bases in Hormozgan and no buildings affiliated with the force were damaged.
Reports of other incidents in Ahvaz and Tehran province
Other reports said sounds of explosions were heard in other Iranian cities, including Ahvaz near the Iran–Iraq border.
Khuzestan Province’s Deputy for Security and Law Enforcement reported five people killed and two injured following what he described as “a domestic gas explosion” in Ahvaz.
The governor of Robat Karim county in Tehran province denied reports of a security or military incident in Parand and Robat Karim, saying smoke observed was caused by a fire in dry reed beds along the banks of the Shour River. Videos of a large plume of smoke near a residential area circulated over the past hour and were said to be related to Parand on Saturday.
What do you think is needed for officials to clarify the causes of these incidents?