Deadly blast rips Iranian port city as Tehran plans naval drills in Strait of Hormuz
An explosion at a building in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday killed one person and wounded 14, according to authorities. The blast came a day before a planned Iranian naval drill in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Amid frantic regional diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, US President Donald Trump on Saturday said Iran was "talking to us".
The local newspaper did not acknowledge the security force member being carried out elsewhere in its reporting. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard itself did not discuss the blast, other than to deny that a Guard navy commander had been hurt in the explosion.
Another explosion blamed on a gas explosion Saturday in the southwestern city of Ahvaz killed five people, state media reported.
Trump says Iran is 'talking to us'
It came as Iran remains tense over a threat by US President Donald Trump to potentially launch a military strike on the country over the killing of peaceful protesters or the possible mass execution of those detained in a major crackdown over the demonstrations.
Trump on Saturday said Iran was negotiating with the US, even as the Islamic republic's army chief warned Washington against launching military strikes.
Trump added that US allies in region were not being told of plans for possible strikes due to security reasons.
"Well, we can't tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan -- it could be worse, actually," he said.
Qatar's premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who also serves as the kingdom's foreign minister, held talks with Iran's top security official Ali Larijani in Tehran on Saturday to try to "de-escalate tensions in the region" said the kingdom's foreign ministry.
Washington has deployed a naval strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier off Iran's shores.
