At least eleven people were killed and seven injured when a fuel tanker exploded near a traffic police station outside Sanandaj, a Kurdish city about 400 kilometres west of Tehran, state media reported. The vehicle suffered a brake fault, collided with several cars and caught fire after the crash.
The injured were taken to hospital. The incident echoes a similar collision in 2018 when a fuel tanker struck a passenger bus near Sanandaj, killing 15 people and injuring four.
Road accidents claim more than 17,000 lives annually in Iran. Experts attribute the high mortality rate to unsafe vehicles, disregard for driving laws and inadequate emergency services.
The explosion comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States. US Central Command said it struck three Iranian oil tankers, including one off Kharg Island, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships. Admiral Brad Cooper warned the IRGC that shooting at US vessels would provoke an even higher economic cost. The IRGC responded by threatening intensified strikes against US military vessels and claimed to have targeted three tankers on unauthorised routes in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three US‑linked vessels elsewhere. The exchange follows a week‑long escalation that threatens to deepen a conflict that has persisted since February, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. President Donald Trump has described the Iran conflict as a relatively minor operation, saying, “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.”
