Surroundings explosion

An explosion occurred at Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, Iranian media reported, without giving a cause for the blast.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said that social media reports alleging that a Revolutionary Guard navy commander was targeted in the explosion were "completely false".Iranian media said the blast was being investigated but gave no further information. Iranian authorities could not immediately be contacted for comment.The port of Bandar Abbas lies on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway between Iran and Oman, which handles about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil.The reported explosion comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington after Iranian authorities quelled the biggest protests to convulse the country in three years, and also amid ongoing Western concerns over Iran's nuclear programme.The nationwide protests erupted in December over economic hardship and posed one of the toughest challenges to the country's clerical rulers.At least 5,000 people were killed in the protests, including 500 members of the security forces, an Iranian official told Reuters.United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday that an "armada" was heading toward Iran. Multiple sources said on Friday that Trump was weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces.Earlier today, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused US, Israeli and European leaders of exploiting Iran's economic problems, inciting unrest and providing people with the means to "tear the nation apart”.He also urged his government to heed public grievances after the demonstrations."We must work with the people and for the people and serve the people as much as possible," Pezeshkian said in a speech broadcast on state TV."If we act justly, the people will see it and will accept it, and under such conditions, no power can cripple a government, a society, or a nation that acts justly, fairly, and on the basis of rights."
Iran's army chief warns US, Israel against attackSeparately, Iranian Army Chief Amir Hatami warned the US and Israel against an attack, saying his country's forces were on high alert following Washington's heavy military deployments in the Gulf.He also insisted Tehran's nuclear expertise could not be eliminated, after Trump said he expected Tehran to seek a deal to avoid US strikes."If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime," Hatami said, according to the official IRNA news agency.He noted that Iran's armed forces were "at full defensive and military readiness". Washington sent a naval strike group to the Middle East led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, with Trump threatening to intervene militarily in the two weeks of anti-government protests.The deployment has raised fears of a possible direct confrontation with Iran, which has warned it would respond with missile strikes on US bases, ships and allies — notably Israel — in the event of an attack.On Friday, Trump said he predicted that Iran would seek to negotiate a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face American military action.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said earlier that Tehran was ready for nuclear talks, but its missiles and defence "will never be negotiated".The US carried out strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites in June when it briefly joined Israel's 12-day war against its regional foe. Israeli attacks also hit military sites across the country and killed senior officers and top nuclear scientists.But Hatami insisted today that Iran's nuclear technology "cannot be eliminated, even if scientists and sons of this nation are martyred".On Friday, US Central Command (Centcom) said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would conduct "a two-day live-fire naval exercise" in the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit hub for global energy supplies.In a statement, Centcom warned the IRGC against "any unsafe and unprofessional behaviour near US forces".The US designated the IRGC a terrorist organisation in 2019, a move the European Union followed on Thursday. The EU decision drew angry reactions from Tehran, which vowed to reciprocate.