Tehran, Feb 14 (EFE).- Iran on Wednesday said explosions recorded at dawn in two major gas pipelines in the country were a “terrorist sabotage” attack, state media reported.<\/p>
Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said that the attack targetting the two transmission pipelines in the country\u2019s southwestern Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province and the southern Fars province at around 1 am on Wednesday caused a massive explosion and a subsequent fire, state-owned Press TV reported.<\/p>
The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) managed to bring the situation under control, he added.<\/p>
“Personnel at oil and gas installations had already been put on high alert. We knew that enemies would attempt to create challenges for the [Iranian] nation in the wake of recent regional developments,” the minister said.<\/p>
Repair work is underway on the affected pipelines, which are xpected to resume operations in 12 to 14 hours, according to Owji.<\/p>
No casualties have been reported, said Saeed Aqli, the head of dispatching operations at the NIGC. <\/p>
Following the blasts, industries and companies in the western Lorestan province will remain closed until further notice, state agency IRNA reported.<\/p>
The Borujen gas pipeline begins in the southern city of Asaluyeh and reaches the Caspian Sea, after traveling 1,250 kilometers (777 miles) while the 750-kilometer long Fars pipeline also starts in Asaluyeh and ends in Isfahan province.<\/p>
The blasts in the two gas pipelines occur amid escalated tensions in the Middle East due to the war in Gaza.<\/p>
Tehran leads the so-called Axis of Resistance, an informal alliance formed by militant organizations such as Hezbollah, Houthi rebels, the Islamist movement Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and militias in Iraq, among other groups.<\/p>
The alliance is directed against the United States and Israel, a country that Iran has accused of carrying out sabotage and assassinations in its territory.<\/p>
Iran has warned that although it is not seeking war with the US, it will not be intimidated and will respond “with force” to a possible US attack on its territory or against its interests in the region. EFE <\/p>
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