Explosions in Iran Spread Jitters and Rumors Amid Anticipation of Attacks

Deadly blasts, including one that may have been caused by a gas leak, raised anxiety in the country. “Society is waiting for war,” one Iranian said.A video image posted on social media on Saturday showed the aftermath of an explosion at a building in Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran.Credit...via Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJan. 31, 2026, 3:33 p.m. ETA deadly explosion that rocked an apartment building in southern Iran on Saturday and that officials said had most likely been caused by a gas leak spread panic in a country on edge about a potential outside attack.The explosion, at an eight-story apartment building in the port city of Bandar Abbas, killed at least one person and injured at least 14 others, according to Fars, a news agency affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The head of the local fire department told the Mehr News Agency that all of the injured had been evacuated.As news of the damage emerged, unsubstantiated social media reports claimed that the explosion had been the result of a U.S.- or Israeli-led assassination of the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ navy, Commodore Alireza Tangsiri. But in a statement, the Guards denied that Commodore Tangsiri had been killed, calling the speculation “psychological warfare” spread by Israeli intelligence.Neither Israel nor the United States commented publicly on the claims.President Trump has called for new leadership in Iran, urged on a protest movement crushed by the government and has lately focused on the country’s nuclear ambitions. This past week, he said that a “massive Armada” was heading toward the country and that the United States was prepared to strike with “speed and violence.”In June, the United States struck three of Iran’s major nuclear sites during a 12-day conflict with Israel that set back Tehran’s nuclear program.Iran has vowed to retaliate against any new American assaults. On Friday, its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the country would not negotiate with the United States unless Mr. Trump stopped threatening it. On Saturday, Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s top security body, wrote on social media that, contrary to speculation on social media, arrangements for negotiations with the United States were progressing.Reports of other explosions and fire-related episodes in the country added to the panic on Saturday.Five other people were killed and two others injured in what the local authorities said had been a “domestic gas explosion” in the southern city of Ahvaz, according to the government’s Islamic Republic News Agency. A local official said the blast did not have a “security or sabotage origin.”There were also unverified social media reports of explosions in the northwestern city of Tabriz, which the authorities dismissed as a rumor, and smoke in Robat Karim that officials said had been the result of a reed fire near a river.Footage circulating on social media and verified by The New York Times showed people gathered around a damaged apartment building in Bandar Abbas. Several levels of the redbrick building were exposed, with rubble strewn inside and out. Multiple floors appeared to have broken windows. At least two floors were significantly damaged, with craters, hanging wires and destroyed furniture.While there was no indication that any of the explosions had been attacks, the social media flurry reflected the anxiety in Iran after Mr. Trump’s threats.“Everyone around me is waiting for possible U.S. and Israeli military attacks,” Ali, a 43-year-old engineer in Tehran, wrote in a text message. He spoke on the condition that his surname not be published for fear of reprisal.“People are stressed, anxious, powerless,” he added. “We don’t know what was behind today’s explosions. Maybe it was an internal retaliation, maybe not. But one thing is undeniable: Society is waiting for war.”Sanjana Varghese contributed reporting.Pranav Baskar is an international reporter and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.SKIP