Iran resumed gas exports to Turkey today after repairs were made to the pipeline damaged in yesterday’s explosion.
Javad Owji, the chief executive of the Iranian National Gas Company, told ISNA that the repairs were completed and tested this morning.
Yesterday, an explosion at the gas pipelines near Makou stopped the flow of gas to the region as well as gas exports to Turkey.
Hamid Ahmadian, the governor of Makou, announced that no one had been hurt, and the blast had only stopped gas from flowing to Makou and Bazargan as well as numerous manufacturing units.
Governor Ahmadian added that the explosion was caused by a bomb and he accused, "U.S. and Israeli mercenaries and dupes" of planting it. The Fars news agency has pointed the finger at PJAK, the militant Kurdish group.
PJAK (Free Life Party of Kurdistan) has been in conflict with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps forces for the past month, with both sides sustaining casualties.
Iran’s gas pipelines to Turkey have been previously targeted by sabotage. In March, three sets of pipelines near Qom were rigged to explode, and Iran’s Parliament accused PJAK in that instance as well.
Last August, the pipelines near Turkey’s eastern Ağri province exploded for unspecified reasons.
