Was there another “mysterious” explosion on Iran’s Qeshm Island?

JULY 26, 2020 13:56

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2020

Iranians on Qeshm Island in southern Iran reported the sound of an explosion on Saturday, at just after ten in the evening local time. It caused concern as the electricity went off. Officials tried to claim there was an earthquake, but many did not believe it.

Rumors pointed to other concerns. Qeshm is known for fishing and also tourism. It is a pretty long island off the important port of Bandar Abbas. Illicit oil trading takes place off some of the islands between Iran and the Gulf. The tanker Gulf Sky, at the center of an international case involving IRGC front companies, was anchored off the island in mid-July after being allegedly hijacked from near the UAE. It is also of strategic value. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has a naval base on the island.

It is in this context that social media accounts and some local Arabic and Persian media accounts claimed there was mysterious explosion. This would be in line with another dozen mysterious explosions that have impacted Iran since late June. One destroyed a surface-to-surface missile facility at Khojir and another harmed centrifuges at Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. This has left many Iranians on edge over concerns that they may be targeted by cyber attacks or other acts that the government is not admitting.

There are other controversies on Qeshm. Fishermen want more support and some believe the island will form part of a free trade zone nexus, along with Kish Island, and that China will have a growing role here. “Iran is not for sale,” say some nationalist and populist social media accounts, challenging China’s alleged upcoming role. Fishermen held a meeting on Friday about facing issues in transporting their catch. Could an explosion be some sort of sabotage? People say it could be human error or an IRGC secret maneuver. Fishermen say they were told not to go out fishing yesterday and link this to the supposed explosion. There are questions over whether it might be linked to an ammunition storage on the island.

In the absence of any real evidence that something happened at Qeshm island, the incident will likely come and go without further details. What it shows is how Iran has been jarred by all the recent explosions and locals are quick to report any rumors of what they think is another incident.