Iranian officials accused Israel on Wednesday of carrying out a sabotage operation that blew up a natural gas pipeline last week.
Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji provided no evidence for his claim, but told Iranian state news that the attack was the latest in a series of Israeli efforts to destabilize Iranian infrastructure.
“The explosion of the gas pipeline was an Israeli plot,” Owji said. “The enemy intended to disturb gas service in the provinces and put people’s gas distribution at risk.”
“The evil action and plot by the enemy was properly managed,” he added.
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Israel has not commented on the Iranian gas pipeline explosions.
The blasts on Feb. 14 hit a natural gas pipeline running from Iran’s western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province up north to cities on the Caspian Sea. The roughly 1,270-kilometer (790-mile) pipeline begins in Asaluyeh, a hub for …