'Gas leak' in IRGC facility in Isfahan leaves multiple casualties

A suspicious incident in one of the facilities of Iran's Revolutionary Guard in the central province of Isfahan has left multiple casualties, according to an official statement by the IRGC.

A statement by the IRGC's Saheb al-Zaman Headquarters said a "gas leak" in an IRGC "workshop" in Isfahan killed one and injured 10 others.

The statement did not provide further details but used the word "martyr" for the only victim of the mysterious incident.

The public relations office of the Isfahan IRGC announced on Thursday that the death toll from the incident had risen to two, with Captain Mojtaba Nazari and Lieutenant Colonel Mokhtar Morshedi identified as the victims.

It is not yet clear if the alleged "gas leak" has caused any blast. So far, no explosion has been heard by social media users.

However, what makes the incident more suspicious is the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency's use of the hashtag #Israel in its initial report about the "gas leak". The hashtag was later deleted from the outlet's website, but it might hint to an act of sabotage, possibly by Tehran's arch-foe.

Isfahan is home to several important military bases and the Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center, which manufactures the Shahed-136 drones. It is also home to sites associated with Iran's nuclear program, such as its underground Natanz enrichment site, which Israeli sabotage activities have purportedly repeatedly targeted.

Back in April, a central part of an air defense system at an Iranian air base in Isfahan was hit by an Israeli attack which came shortly after the IRGC's massive attack on Israel. Unnamed US officials said at the time missiles were fired from Israeli fighter jets over Iraqi airspace and “hit” their intended target which was the Eighth Shekari Air Base, about 20 km northeast of Isfahan and 150 km south of the nuclear facility at Natanz.

The imagery of the Iranian S-300 air defense system showed some significant damage to its fire control radar, while the missile launchers were apparently left intact.