Series of shady incidents: Relationship between Iran’s fires and its involvement in Gulf waters

Eslam Mohamed

After the tensions that occurred in the waters of the Gulf region against the backdrop of accusing the Iranian regime of hijacking and attacking ships and commercial tankers sailing near the Strait of Hormuz and the exchange of attacks in Lebanon between the Tehran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, shady incidents have begun to appear again in Iran at a time when people were waiting for the response to those attacks, which the US Secretary of State pledged would be a collective response.

In what appears to be the beginning of the return of the phenomenon of a series of fires in Iran, local media reported that a fire broke out in a tank at the Kharg Petrochemical Complex in the southwest of the country, indicating that the situation was brought under control. The local media declined to publish any details related to this fire or reveal the cause of its outbreak at this time, especially as it comes after another fire broke out at a petrochemical plant in the southwest of the country as well, which was announced by the Iranian Radio and Television Authority on August 3.

The authority quoted the director of Mahshahr Port as saying that the fire broke out in a waste warehouse in a factory in an economic zone designated for petrochemicals.

During the nuclear negotiations in Vienna, which lasted from last April to June, Iran witnessed a number of major accidents that targeted different sites across the country, which Tehran accused the United States and Israel of carrying out. For example, a fire broke out in April inside a factory for explosives and firecrackers in the central Iranian province of Isfahan, which resulted in the injury of nine workers, the causes of which were not determined. On May 8, a large fire broke out at the entrance to the southern city of Bushehr, which includes a famous nuclear plant, and the Natanz reactor in Isfahan province was exposed to more mysterious explosions. On one occasion, the authorities described them as sabotage operations targeting the nuclear program. A massive fire also broke out in the largest logistics ship belonging to the army.

A major fire also broke out in the port of Bushehr in last July, which led to the burning of at least seven ships, without causing any casualties. In recent months, the country witnessed a wave of fires in companies and factories in several cities, including Qom, Isfahan and Qazvin, without the reasons being disclosed.

Tehran is afraid of confrontation so as not to create internal resentment against its ruling regime. The levels of destruction inside Iran during any major confrontation mean a complete destruction of the country’s military and infrastructure, at a time when the regime is suffering from protests and popular anger, while Iran’s opponents prefer to target it with intelligence and cyber attacks in order to prevent getting involved in a full-blown conflict, especially since their hidden methods ensure that the goals are achieved.