Blasts hit Iran natural gas pipeline, official calls it 'act of sabotage'

DUBAI: Explosions struck a natural gas pipeline in Iran early on Wednesday, with an official blaming the blasts on a "sabotage and terrorist action" in the country as tensions remain high in Middle East. Details were scarce, though the blasts hit a natural gas pipeline running from Iran's western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province up north to cities on Caspian Sea. The roughly 1,270km pipeline begins in Asaluyeh, a hub for Iran's offshore South Pars gas field. Saeed Aghli, the manager of Iran's gas network control centre, told Iranian state television a "sabotage and terrorist" action caused explosions. There are no known insurgent groups operating in that province, home to the Bakhtiari, a branch of Iran's Lur ethnic group.