One day before a planned naval drill by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, an explosion tore through an apartment building Saturday in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, which sits on the strait. The blast killed a 4-year-old girl, while local media footage purportedly showed a security force member being carried out by rescuers.
Iran is planning a naval drill on Sunday and Monday in the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes. The U.S. military has warned Iran not to threaten its warships or commercial traffic in the strait.
State television quoted a local fire official as blaming the blast on a gas leak. Media reported at least 14 others were injured in the explosion. A local newspaper, Sobh-e Sahel, aired footage of a correspondent speaking in front of the building. The footage included a sequence showing a man in a green security force uniform being carried out on a stretcher. He wore a neck brace and appeared to be in pain, his left hand covering the branch insignia on his uniform. The newspaper did not acknowledge the security force member being carried out elsewhere in its reporting.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard did not discuss the blast, other than to deny that a Guard navy commander had been hurt.
In a separate incident, another explosion blamed on a gas leak occurred Saturday in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, killing five people, state media reported.
Tensions remain high in Iran over a threat by President Trump to potentially launch a military strike on the country in response to the killing of peaceful protesters or the possible mass execution of detainees following a major crackdown on demonstrations.
Speaking to CBS News Thursday night on the red carpet of the “Melania” premiere—a documentary providing an inside look at the life of First Lady Melania Trump after her husband’s 2024 election victory—Mr. Trump said, “I have had conversations with Iran in the last few days, and I am planning to have more.”
Mr. Trump added that in these conversations, he “told them two things. No. 1, no nuclear. And No. 2, stop killing protesters. They’re killing them by the thousands.”
At least 10 U.S. warships, including an aircraft carrier and at least five destroyers, were heading toward Iran’s coastal waters on Friday. “We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now,” Mr. Trump told CBS News Thursday. “And it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.”
Ali Larijani, a top security official in Iran, wrote on X late Saturday that “structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing.”
CBS News on Friday sought clarification from the White House about any ongoing direct negotiations between the Trump administration and Tehran.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Saturday called for de-escalation and said Egypt is working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table to achieve a “peaceful and comprehensive settlement to the Iranian nuclear file,” according to a statement on his phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Qatar also issued a statement noting that Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visited Tehran on Saturday and met with Larijani to discuss “efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iranian-port-city-blast-ahead-of-iran-naval-drill-strait-of-hormuz/
