A powerful explosion struck a residential building in Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, causing extensive damage, with authorities yet to determine the cause.
According to Iranian state television, the blast occurred in an eight-storey structure located on Moallem Boulevard, destroying two floors of the building and damaging nearby vehicles and shops.
Visuals aired on state media showed the building’s façade blown apart, with debris strewn across the surrounding area and parts of the interior exposed.
Emergency response teams, including firefighters and rescue personnel, were immediately deployed to the site to assist those affected.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Hormozgan province’s crisis management director, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, as saying that the cause of the explosion is under investigation.
Hassanzadeh said injured individuals were being shifted to hospitals by emergency services, though no deaths had been reported at the time of filing this report.
Several Iranian media outlets carried similar accounts, all noting the absence of official clarity on what triggered the blast.
Meanwhile, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency rejected social media claims suggesting that the explosion targeted a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy, calling such reports “completely false."
The IRGC is a key pillar of Iran’s security establishment and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The incident comes amid heightened regional tensions, following the deployment of a US aircraft carrier group to the region after strong rhetoric from US President Donald Trump.
Trump on Wednesday delivered a renewed warning to Iran, calling on Tehran to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme or risk facing significantly harsher military action from the United States.
In a post on social media, Trump urged Iranian leaders to re-enter talks and commit to an agreement that would permanently block the country from developing nuclear weapons. Stressing urgency, he said time was fast running out for diplomacy.
“Hopefully Iran will come to the table quickly and negotiate a fair and balanced deal — no nuclear weapons — one that benefits everyone. Time is critical," Trump wrote.
Trump, who withdrew the US from the 2015 multinational nuclear deal with Iran during his first term, also referenced past American military responses as a cautionary message.
He noted that a previous warning to Tehran had been ignored and was followed by a significant US strike, underscoring the consequences of continued defiance.
