Source : BRICS NEWS
TEHRAN, October 22, 2026 – Several explosions were heard in southern Iran near the Strait of Hormuz late on October 21, Iranian media reported, as tensions between Tehran, Washington and Israel continue to build weeks after a lull in fighting in the US-Iran war.
BRICS News reported the blasts in a post on X, saying that “several explosions” had been heard in Iran, citing Iranian media reports. The post did not give a location, a cause or any information on casualties.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA said the explosions occurred in the Karpan area of Sirik, a town in Hormozgan province on the Gulf of Oman coast close to the Strait of Hormuz, according to Anadolu Agency. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and local sources had yet to provide details about the cause or nature of the blasts, the agency said. The Fars news agency also reported that the cause of the explosions was unknown.
According to BBC News Arabic, IRNA did not say whether the area had been attacked or whether missiles had been launched from it. The broadcaster said the explosions were the first of their kind in the area this month, following a period of relative calm and a halt to bombardment in recent weeks of the war between the United States and Iran.
The incident comes amid heightened regional tensions and continuing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a significant share of the world’s oil supplies passes. On the same day, Yadollah Javani, the political deputy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned that internet cables running through the strait could be targeted if Iranian infrastructure came under attack, Iran International reported.
Iranian officials have also issued fresh warnings to Washington. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on October 21 that the United States would face a “strategic defeat” if it chose war over diplomacy, adding that Iran was ready to give diplomacy another chance provided it saw strong evidence of a sincere US desire to build trust and reach a fair solution, BBC News Arabic reported. Iran’s new Defence Minister, Mehrdad Akhlaghi, said Tehran was turning repeated threats into greater readiness and more effective defensive power.
In Israel, Axios reported that dozens of Israeli fighter jets and refuelling aircraft flew a sortie on October 19 that took them towards the Iranian border before turning back, with Israeli sources describing the operation as an effort to deter Tehran from attacking Israel ahead of the country’s October 27 election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an election rally on October 21 that the only way to end the Iranian threat was to topple the government in Tehran.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remain deadlocked. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on October 21 and offered Moscow’s help, Iran International reported, shortly after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Tehran. A key obstacle is Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 per cent, which Tehran has refused to transfer abroad.
Also on October 21, the US Treasury imposed new sanctions on a law firm, shipping operators and maritime logistics companies accused of helping Iran evade restrictions on its oil and other exports, according to Iran International.
The war began in late February when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting Tehran to strike US facilities across the region. Iranian authorities had not issued any further explanation of the Sirik explosions at the time of writing.
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