Representative file photo

An explosion struck a building in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, damaging an eight-storey structure on Moallem Boulevard, state media reported. The blast destroyed “two floors, several vehicles, and shops”, though the cause remains unclear.The semi-official Tasnim news agency dismissed social media claims that a Revolutionary Guard navy commander was targeted, calling them “completely false.”The official IRNA news agency quoted Hormozgan province’s director general of crisis management, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, as saying the cause of the explosion was under investigation. He added that “those injured in the incident are being transferred to the hospital by emergency responders,” without reporting any fatalities.Images broadcast by state television showed the building’s facade blown out, exposing parts of the interior, with debris scattered across the area. Other Iranian media outlets carried similar reports, also without giving details on the cause of the blast, as cited by AFP. The incident comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, following a crackdown on the largest protests to hit Iran in three years and ongoing Western concerns over the country’s nuclear programme.The protests, which began in December over economic hardship, marked a major challenge to Iran’s clerical leadership. An Iranian official told Reuters that at least 5,000 people were killed, including 500 members of the security forces.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that an “armada” was heading towards Iran, while sources said on Friday that he was considering options that include targeted strikes on Iranian security forces.Meanwhile, Iran’s army chief Amir Hatami on Saturday warned the United States and Israel, saying the country’s armed forces were on high alert in response to Washington’s significant military deployments in the Gulf.