Five people have been killed in two separate explosions in Iran which local officials and state media say were caused by gas leaks.
One person was killed and 14 injured in a blast at a residential building in the southern city of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf coast, a local official told Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency.
Another explosion killed four people in the south-western city of Ahvaz, the state-run Tehran Times reported.
This comes as tensions persist in the region after a build-up of US forces in the Gulf, alongside President Donald Trump's demands for a nuclear agreement with Tehran.
In Bandar Abbas, state TV reported that the explosion ripped through an eight-floor building, destroying two floors and damaging several vehicles and shops in the Moallem Boulevard area. The local fire department chief, Mohammad Amin Liaqat, suggested that the incident was likely due to a gas leak and build-up.
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, a regional official, confirmed that the injured were taken to the hospital while efforts to uncover the details surrounding the explosions are ongoing.
Separate reports from the Tehran Times indicated that a second explosion occurred at a residential building in Ahvaz, near the Iraq border, where emergency officials rescued a child trapped beneath debris.
The backdrop of these tragedies is marked by escalated tensions following the gathering of US naval forces and Trump's stern warnings regarding Iran's nuclear program, enforcing the urgency of political negotiations.
