Amid a state of escalating tension in general in the region, and between the two countries in particular during the recent period, the Iranian Oil Minister, Javad Oji, accused Israel of responsibility for an attack on gas pipelines last week, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
Oji said on Wednesday that Israel “intended to cut off gas supplies to homes… but within two hours our colleagues worked to confront the plot, which only caused damage to several pipes,” according to Reuters.
Two explosions
These accusations came after two explosions targeted the main gas pipeline network between the south and the north in Iran on Wednesday, February 14.
Oji described the attack at the time as a “terrorist act of sabotage.” However, he did not point the finger at any party.
A similar incident in 2011
He told state television: “This act of terrorist sabotage occurred at one o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, February 14 (09.30 pm GMT) in the national gas transmission line network in two locations in the country.”
He also pointed to a similar incident that occurred on February 11, 2011, which he said was an act of sabotage that led to a temporary gas outage in 4 different areas.
It is noteworthy that last December, a hacking group that Iran accuses of having ties to Israel claimed that it had carried out a cyber attack that led to the disruption of up to 70% of gas stations in Iran.
