‘Terrorist sabotage attack’: Blast hits major gas transmission pipelines in southern Iran- Video

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji says a “terrorist sabotage” attack has targeted two main gas transmission pipelines in the country’s southwestern province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari as well as the southern province of Fars, causing a massive explosion and a subsequent fire.

Speaking on the sidelines of a cabinet session in the capital Tehran on Wednesday, Owji said that groups of saboteurs blew up the transmission lines in several locations at around 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday (2130 GMT Tuesday).

He went on to note that the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) has well managed to bring the situation under control since early hours of the day.

“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 and mass turnout of people in rallies marking the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution,” Owji said.

The Iranian oil minister highlighted that repair work on the affected pipelines is underway, and hopefully the flow on the pipelines will resume in less than 12-14 hours.

The terrorist attack on Iran’s major gas transmission lines comes as anti-Iran media outlets had been suggesting assaults on the Iranian energy sector over the past few months, and some US Senators had even called for the bombing of Iran’s oil and gas infrastructure.