Blasts Reported on Iran's Qeshm Island and in Southern Cities as US Moves to Block Land Supply Routes

Blasts were heard on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and in the southern Iranian cities of Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas, Iranian state media reported, as the United States moved to block land supply routes into Iran amid the ongoing war between Washington and Tehran.

The reports, carried in Al Jazeera's live coverage of the conflict, listed explosions at four locations in southern Iran: Qeshm Island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz, and the coastal cities of Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas.

Iranian state media did not state what caused the blasts, and the initial reports as relayed included no figures on casualties and no details on the extent of any damage. No claim of responsibility was reported in the early coverage.

All four locations lie in or near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Qeshm is Iran's largest island and sits directly in the strait. Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, is Iran's principal southern port and a major hub for its navy and commercial shipping. Jask and Sirik are coastal cities in Hormozgan Province, farther east along the shore of the Gulf of Oman. The region concentrates much of Iran's port, naval and energy infrastructure.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important shipping chokepoints in the world, and a substantial share of globally traded oil passes through it every day. Explosions reported in locations strung along the strait and its approaches place the latest incidents at the center of a waterway that oil markets and navies monitor continuously, and which has been the scene of repeated incidents involving shipping during past periods of confrontation in the region.

Alongside the reported blasts, Al Jazeera's live coverage reported that the United States is moving to block land supply routes into Iran. The step targets overland supply lines as the war continues, but the reports did not identify the specific corridors or neighboring countries affected.

The move on supply routes came as the United States offered a reward of up to $20 million for information about Iran's nuclear program, according to the BBC, which reported the reward offer among its top stories.

President Donald Trump, who began his second term in the White House in January 2025, has repeatedly raised the prospect of renewing strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, the BBC reported. The reference to renewing strikes follows earlier American attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities during the conflict, and Iran's nuclear program has stood at the center of the confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

The sequence of reported developments, grouped within the same round of live coverage, combined explosions across Iran's southern coastal region, an American effort to seal off land supply routes, a multimillion-dollar reward offer for intelligence on Iran's nuclear activities, and open discussion in Washington of further strikes on nuclear sites.

The reports of blasts inside Iran remain attributed to Iranian state media, which has served as the initial source of information on the explosions in Qeshm, Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas. Al Jazeera is continuing live coverage of the developments from the region.

The BBC's reporting on the $20 million reward noted that Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of renewed strikes, keeping further attacks on Iran's nuclear program on the table as the war enters its latest phase.