Blast Rocks Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port, Leaving 1 Dead and 14 Injured; Officials Cite Gas Leak

At least one person was killed and 14 others injured in a powerful explosion in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday.

While early rumors on social media suggested a targeted attack on IRGC naval commanders, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency dismissed these claims as "completely false." Local fire officials later attributed the blast to a domestic gas leak.

A separate gas-related explosion in Ahvaz, near the Iraqi border, claimed four more lives on the same day. Despite the high tensions in the region, Israeli officials confirmed to Reuters that they had no involvement in the Bandar Abbas incident.

Bandar Abbas is Iran's most critical maritime gateway, located on the Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint responsible for nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. This incident occurs amid a sharp escalation in rhetoric between Tehran and Washington, with President Trump recently ordering a naval fleet toward Iranian waters and Tehran accusing foreign powers of fueling domestic unrest.