Two separate explosions hit southern Iran on January 31, killing at least four people, while authorities moved to deny rumours that the blasts had claimed the life of a senior military commander.

In Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, four people were killed after an alleged gas explosion struck a residential unit. The Fire Department said debris removal operations were ongoing and would continue until all individuals possibly trapped under the rubble were located, local social media reported.

A second blast was reported in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province. The Director General of Crisis Management in the province said the loud explosion, which was heard across parts of the city, was caused by a blast at a residential home on Moallem Boulevard and was unrelated to any other incidents.

Following the two explosions, several social media channels circulated widespread rumours claiming the assassination of Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Mehr News Agency reported on January 31 that the claims were entirely false and that no incident had taken place involving the IRGC naval chief.

Bne IntelliNews cannot confirm whether the military official is alive, as no local media channel has yet shown videos of him as proof of life. However, the blasts follow a similar pattern across the country to previous assassinations, both successful and unsuccessful, by foreign-backed groups. 

Sources said the rumour was part of a "psychological operation" by anti-Iranian factions, designed to unsettle public opinion, weaken national morale and create a sense of insecurity. Tangsiri remains in good health, and the IRGC Navy continues to operate as normal and at full readiness.

A third explosion was reported on Iranian social media in the south of Tehran on January 31, near the satellite town of Parand, close to the main international terminal. 

A fourth alleged explosion video was uploaded to social media in the northwestern city of Tabriz; however, the video, which shows smoke in the distance, has not yet been confirmed by local news sources. 

The incidents came as tensions between Tehran and Washington reached a high point. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group entered the Middle East area of operations on January 26, with drones reportedly flying from the hidden aircraft carrier off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. 

The naval buildup added around 5,000 troops to the region, bringing the total US military presence in the Middle East to more than 30,000, making it the biggest military buildup since the second Gulf War.

Iran launched its own live-fire naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on the same day with US Central Command (CENTCOM) warning the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Naval forces not to worsen the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, it posted on its social media account on January 30.