Iran: Gas leak occurs at petrochemicals plant in Bandar Imam Khomeini and fire breaks out at power plant in Ahvaz July 4

Event

Two more incidents were reported at infrastructure facilities in Iran on Saturday, July 4, the latest in a series of incidents at key infrastructure sites across Iran since June 26. A chlorine gas leak was reported at the Karoon petrochemical plant near Bandar Imam Khomeini (Khuzestan province). The gas leak led to around 70 personnel on site at the plant being taken to hospital due to chlorine inhalation.

Also on Saturday, a fire broke out at a power plant in Ahvaz (Khuzestan province). The fire has reportedly been put out by firefighters and power has been restored after partial outages occurred in the city, according to a spokesperson for the state-owned electricity company TAVANIR. No casualties were reported in this incident.

Localized disruptions are possible in the vicinity of both incidents in the near term. A heightened security presence is to be expected around key infrastructure sites.

Context

At least three previous incidents have occurred at various facilities across Iran over the past eight days. On June 26, an explosion and subsequent fire were reported near the Parchin military site (Tehran province). On June 30, 19 people were killed in an explosion at a medical clinic north of Tehran. On Thursday, July 2, a fire broke out at the Natanz nuclear facility. Although there are no confirmed links between the incidents, it has been indicated that the Natanz incident was caused deliberately by cyber-sabotage. The other two incidents were reported by state media to have been caused by gas leaks.

Advice

Individuals in Iran are advised to avoid the vicinity of the incidents, take extra precaution around key infrastructure, monitor developments, and adhere to all instructions issued by local authorities.