Five people were killed, and 14 were reportedly injured in two blasts that rocked Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas and Ahvaz.
Further explosions were reported in Karaj, and the Parand neighborhood of Tehran.
According to a Reuters report citing local officials, one person was killed and 14 were injured in the Bandar Abbas blast. An additional five people were confirmed dead from blasts in Ahvaz, Iran International reported.
Both explosions in Bandar Abbas and Ahvaz were caused by a gas leak, Iranian authorities claimed.
"Following a gas explosion in a four-unit building in Kianshahr, four members of a family, including the father, mother, and their two children, lost their lives," Ahvaz's city's Fire Department chief said, as reported by Iran International.
Reports of an additional explosion in Parand were denied by the governor of Robat Karim, who, according to state-run Mehr News Agency, alleged that the source of widespread smoke reported across the city was "a fire in dried reed beds along the banks of the Shur River" rather than an explosion.
The governor added that "there is no cause for concern for residents" and that relevant authorities are investigating the matter as an "environmentally harmful action."
Israel was not involved in the Iran blasts, two Israeli officials told Reuters. A separate security source told N12 News that Israel and the US are not currently conducting activity in the region, and that the blasts were likely due to an “internal incident."
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
IRGC denies reports that it was targeted
Initial social media reports stated that members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) naval arm were targeted in the blast. However, the IRGC denied online rumors that its navy headquarters in Bandar Abbas was being targeted, according to an IRGC-linked Fars News report.
"No drone attack has occurred on the IRGC Navy's headquarters in Hormozgan, and no building affiliated with this force has been damaged," the IRGC said.
Semi-official Tasnim news agency said that social media reports alleging that a specific IRGC navy commander was targeted in the explosion were "completely false." Tasnim also reported that all residents of the damaged building were evacuated.
“Residents and those injured in the explosion of a residential building in Bandar Abbas have evacuated the building, and our colleagues are looking to discover the cause of the incident," the Bandar Abbas Fire Chief told Tasnim.
IRGC live-fire naval exercises
The explosions come as the IRGC plans to conduct a live-fire naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, along which the port of Bandar Abbas is located.
On Friday evening, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) released a statement urging the IRGC to conduct the "in a manner that is safe, professional and avoids unnecessary risk to freedom of navigation for international maritime traffic."
CENTCOM additionally noted that "any unsafe and unprofessional behavior near US forces, regional partners, or commercial vessels increases risks of collision, escalation, and destabilization."