Explosion reported at Iranian city of Bandar Abbas

Tehran: An explosion took place on Saturday at a building in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf coast, state media reported, though the cause of the blast was as yet unknown.

State television said the explosion occurred at an eight-storey building, "destroying two floors, several vehicles, and shops" in the area of Moallem Boulevard in the city.

Rescue and firefighting teams were on site to provide assistance, it added.

The official IRNA news agency quoted the director general of crisis management in Hormozgan province, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, as saying the cause of the explosion was under investigation.

"Those injured in the incident are being transferred to hospital by emergency responders," he added, without reporting any fatalities.

Images carried by state TV showed the building's facade blown out, exposing parts of its interior, with debris scattered around.

Other Iranian media carried similar reports, also without providing details on the cause.

The explosion came at a tense moment for Iran after the United States deployed an aircraft carrier group to the region following bellicose rhetoric from President Donald Trump.

After rumours circulated online, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denied that any of the buildings belonging to its naval forces in the province had been targeted, according to a statement carried by the Fars news agency.

Separately, in the southwestern Khuzestan province, four people were killed in a gas explosion that also took place on Saturday in the Kianshahr neighbourhood of Ahvaz city.

Crews had begun clearing the debris from that blast to rescue those trapped under the rubble, state television reported.