Blast in Iran port city kills 1, injures 14 ahead of Hormuz naval drill

An explosion tore through an apartment building Saturday in Irans port city of Bandar Abbas killing a 4yearold girl as local media footage purportedly showed a security force member being carried out by rescuersThe blast happened a day before a planned naval drill by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes The US military has warned Iran not to threaten its warships or commercial traffic in the strait on which Bandar Abbas sitsState television quoted a local fire official as blaming the blast on a gas leak Media reported at least 14 others injured in the explosionA local newspaper Sobhe Sahel aired footage of a correspondent speaking in front of the building The footage included a sequence that showed 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 uniformThe newspaper did not acknowledge the security force member being carried out elsewhere in its reporting Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard did not discuss the blast other than to deny that a Guard navy commander had been hurtAnother explosion blamed on a gas explosion Saturday in the southwestern city of Ahvaz killed five people state media reportedIran 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 demonstrationsAli Larijani a top security official in Iran wrote on X late Saturday that structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing However there is no public sign of any talks with the United States which Irans 86yearold Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly ruled outEgyptian President AbdelFattah elSissi on Saturday called for deescalation and said Egypt is working to bring the US 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 PezeshkianQatar in a statement said Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visited Tehran on Saturday and met with Larijani about efforts to deescalate tensions in the regionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever