TEHRAN: Iran on Wednesday accused Israel of being behind two attacks last week on gas pipelines that disrupted supplies in several provinces, further intensifying tensions between the regional archenemies amid the war on Gaza.
Oil Minister Javad Owji said after a cabinet meeting that the explosion of Iran’s gas lines was the work of Israel. Two blasts hit Iran’s key south-north gas pipeline network on February 14.
They were initially described by Owji as a “terrorist act or sabotage” without naming who was behind the activity. The enemy intended to disturb gas service in the provinces and put gas distribution at risk, state media quoted Owji.
Israel has not acknowledged launching the strikes, but it rarely claims its espionage missions abroad. The explosions target a natural gas pipeline from Iran’s western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province up north to cities on the Caspian Sea. The pipeline begins in Asaluyeh, a hub for the offshore South Pars gas field in Iran.
There were no reported casualties from the blasts. State media reported that supplies had been disrupted in the provinces of Zanjan in the northwest, Lorestan in the west, and North Khorasan in the northeast.
Earlier attacks in Iran
Owji earlier compared the strike to a series of mysterious and unclaimed attacks on gas pipelines in 2011, including a strike around the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 revolution.
In December, a hacking group that Tehran accuses of having links to Israel claimed it launched a cyberattack which disrupted as much as 70% of the petrol stations in Iran.
