Evidence

Multiple outlets report that Arak Governor Abdolreza Haj-Alibeygi told Iran's state news agency IRNA on Tuesday evening (around October 20-21) that an incident at the IRALCO aluminum plant's Line 6 was caused by a technical fault in the electrical system and voltage fluctuations, explicitly denying reports of an explosion, sabotage, or any military/security-related incident. This is corroborated by Shanghai Metals Market's aluminum industry news wire, Iranian outlet Saednews (citing IRNA), and other aggregator sites (AhBlickLive), all attributing the same quote to the same official. Social media posts (e.g., a widely shared X/Twitter post by Mario Nawfal) describe 'massive explosions and fire' at the plant and frame the governor's statement as a denial amid visible footage of smoke/flames, noting about 60 smelting pots went offline. No Reuters Fact Check, AFP Fact Check, Bellingcat, or EUvsDisinfo investigation of this specific claim was found in the search results. The underlying cause of the disruption has not been independently verified by any outlet found; all reporting traces back to the same Iranian official's statement to state media (IRNA), with no independent technical or forensic confirmation.