Explosion at oil refinery kills 1, injures 2 in southern Iran

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - At least one person was killed and two others were injured in an explosion at an oil refinery in southern Iran on Thursday, according to local media.

Habib Bahadori, the governor of Bandar Abbas County, said the explosion at the Aftab Oil Refinery Company was caused by “non-observance of safety precautions," the state news agency IRNA reported.

The condition of one of the injured is believed to be critical.

The incident reportedly occurred at 11:30 am local time (08:00 GMT) during the repair of one of the furnaces of the oil refinery located in the vicinity of Bandar Abbas County in Hormozgan province.

Authorities have ordered an investigation into the explosion.

It came less than a month after Iran blamed Israel for attacks on two major gas transmission pipelines that caused disruptions in gas supply in many provinces.

The explosions struck two gas pipelines in southern Fars and central Chaharmahal Bakhtiari provinces on Feb. 19, which are the main artery of natural gas transmission from Persian Gulf refineries to major Iranian cities, including Tehran.

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji at the time said the explosions were an “Israeli conspiracy" that was "foiled." He added that the plan was to "disrupt the flow of gas in winter."

Iran has often held Israel responsible for sabotage operations inside the country, which have mainly targeted nuclear and industrial facilities in different cities.