Minister Blames Terrorism After Double Blasts Hit Gas Pipeline in Iran

A major natural gas pipeline in southwestern Iran was struck by explosions in two separate places overnight in an incident that Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji described as “acts of terrorism.” The blasts, which occurred around 1 am Wednesday local time, caused damage to the pipeline in the province of Fars and the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. No injuries were reported in the incident and no group claimed responsibility. Owji said that emergency response teams had been quickly dispatched to reroute the gas flow and repair the damaged sections. The pipeline is part of the nationwide gas transfer network and a similar attack on the same pipeline in 2011 disrupted gas supplies to four regions. In the wake of the latest blasts, Iran’s national gas company convened a crisis meeting of senior officials with the oil minister.