Burning Ships, Nuclear Explosions Incite Doubts of Failing Iranian Government on Potential Sabotage

In the southern port city Bushehr of Iran, a massive blaze engulfed a shipyard on Wednesday. Seven separate ships were burned down and sent an enormous dark smoke cloud hovering over the city, as seen in videos and media reports.

Continuous fires and explosions

According to The York Times, the fire is the most recent of a string of dozens of flames and explosions that have ravaged across the forests, factories, and military facilities of Iran within the last three months.

The incidents have since been a cause for concern for Iranian citizens, and officials announced that a few of the events were due to sabotages but noted that the majority were caused by weather, accidents, and malfunctioning equipment.

In the city of Lamard on Tuesday, a fire broke out in an aluminum factory found in the Fars province. And the next day, another blaze engulfed a petrochemical plant located in the Khuzestan province.

Two weeks ago, an explosion ravaged and completely decimated the country's top nuclear facility found in Natanz, which housed centrifuges. Rumors have spread that the attack was caused by Israeli sabotage.

Two other power plants had also erupted into chaos when a chemical plant experienced a chlorine gas leak and another where a missile production factory inside a military complex in Tehran burst in an explosion.

Some Iranian officials have privately expressed they suspect some of the incidents were caused by third parties such as the US and Israeli military campaigns going against Iran. However, no official has publicly expressed accusations of any international force regarding the incidents.

Several analysts suspect that various oppositions of the Iranian government, not only the United States and Israel but also domestic groups are taking advantage of the situation to incite chaos within the country.

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Potential sabotage

A Tehran conservative political analyst, Foad Izadi, stated some believe individuals or groups who desire change in the Iranian political scene are attacking the country to see which regime would remain. Izadi said the incidents are showcasing a sense of instability and turmoil within the country.

The fire at the shipyard was reported not to have produced any casualties, as reported by US News.

The Islamic Republic News Agency of Iran wrote an article earlier this month suggesting the possibility of sabotage from the United States and Israeli forces responsible for the string of incidents. Still, it stopped short of directly accusing either country of the events.

A Tehran reformist analyst, Abbas Abdi, said no individual believes a third-party entity did not cause the incidents. The analyst said the objective of the attacks was to instill a sense of doubt that the Iranian government was failing the country.

Due to the frequency of the incidents, Iranian citizens have become accustomed to guessing what the next incident would be or where it would happen, as reported by First Post.

A 63-year-old business owner who asked to remain anonymous said their morning greetings between friends and colleagues would be followed by talks of speculation of the next explosion of fire.

The Iranian government has found it difficult to respond and give a firm detailed analysis of the situation as a clear culprit is not found, nor has any claim to the attacks been credible.