Blast caused by gas leak injures 7 in Iranian city of Qom

An explosion at a residential building injured seven people in the Iranian city of Qom, Iranian state media reported on Monday, with the fire department blaming a gas leak and Qom's governor ruling out any "terrorist" action.

Since the end of a 12-day air war last month between Iran and Israel, in which Israel and the United States attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, several gas explosions have occurred in Iran, and the authorities have not blamed Israel.

Qom Governor Akbar Behnamjoo was quoted by state media as saying: "The cause of the explosion in a residential building of Pardisan was not terrorism."

The director of Qom's fire department told the semi-official Fars news agency four residential units were damaged in the blast in the Pardisan neighbourhood.

"Initial assessments show that the cause of the incident was a gas leak, and follow-ups are continuing in this regard," the director said.