Explosion in a building at a Gulf port, origin unknown, state media says

An explosion struck a building in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, state television reported, adding that the cause was not yet known.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency said several people were injured and taken to hospital. No deaths were initially reported. Television reports said the blast destroyed two floors of an eight-story building, along with several vehicles and shops. Emergency and firefighting crews were dispatched to the scene.

An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the explosion, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, director general of crisis management for Hormozgan province, told IRNA. Images circulating on social media showed part of the building’s facade blown off. Other Iranian media also reported the blast but provided no details about its origin.

The explosion occurred at a time of heightened regional tensions, as U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated threats of attacks against Iran and deployed about 10 warships to the Gulf, including the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln.

After rumors circulated online, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard denied that any of its naval facilities in Hormozgan province had been targeted, according to a statement carried by the Fars news agency.

In a separate incident in Ahvaz, in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province near the Iraqi border, four people were killed Saturday in an explosion caused by a gas leak. State television said emergency crews had begun clearing debris to rescue those trapped under the rubble.