Is Israel behind mysterious fires, sabotage in Iran? Tehran’s officials make shocking claim

The multiple “gas explosions” and “fires” that have been creating news in Iran over the last few weeks could be the work of Israel, according to an Iranian official. This comes as many, including two IRGC officials, died in these unexplained incidents in Iran just after the 12-day war with Israel.

Though Iran shrugged off the events as a coincidence, three Iranian officials, including a member of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), told the New York Times that they believed that many of them were acts of sabotage. However, the officials are not allowed to publicly acknowledge the fact so as not to trigger panic among the population that is still traumatised by the country’s war with Israel and the United States. Iran also does not want to “corner itself into having to retaliate against Israel.”

The fire incidents included a blaze in northeast Iran near Mashhad International Airport, which authorities said was “controlled burning of weeds“. The authorities attributed the series of gas explosions to worn-out infrastructure.

Also read: What's behind the mysterious deaths in Iran? Senior IRGC commander dies of 'chemical injuries'

Israel’s alleged history of covert operations in Iran, including  explosions and assassinations, and its vow to continue operating in Iran prompts Tehran to point its fingers at Israel. Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad, had stated that its work in Iran would continue even after the cease-fire.

Though the Iranian officials do not have evidence to back up their claims, the authorities are yet to provide a convincing explanation as to why gas explosions happened at a rate of one to two per day across the country. A European official who deals with Iran also told the NYT that he assessed the attacks as “sabotage” and suspected Israel to be behind it. He believes Israel could be using such attacks as a “psychological warfare and to take out targets.”

Though Israel has not reacted or responded to the mysterious explosions, a Persian-language X account that styles itself as Israel’s Mossad addressed the explosions in a post. "Explosion after explosion. Someone needs to check what's going on there. Too many random incidents are happening," he said.

Analysts believe Iran is trying to downplay the attacks. “The Iranian government’s long record of cover-ups and lack of transparency, along with its vague responses, has only deepened public fear and suspicion,”  Omid Memarian, an Iran expert at DAWN, a Washington-based foreign policy research institute, told the NYT.

 

Middle East