Explosions rock Iran following Trumps threat
Two explosions rocked Iran on Saturday and killed at least five people as the country continues to grapple with violent protests.
One person was killed, and 14 more were injured following a blast near Iran’s southern port of Bander Abbas today.
The port, which lies on the Strait of Hormuz, handles about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil, and is also reportedly home to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy Headquarters.
A second blast was reported more than 600 miles away in an eight-storey residential building in the town of Ahvaz, where four people died, according to local reports.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said that social media reports alleging that a Revolutionary Guard navy commander was targeted in the second explosion were ‘completely false’. Pictures showed significant damage to the lower floors of the tower block, while several cars and a shop were also reportedly damaged.
Footage showed the aftermath of the explosion, with rubble strewn across the street.
Other videos and pictures showed smoke rising from the site of the explosion today.
Iranian media said the blast was being investigated but gave no further information, and the cause of both explosions is currently unknown.
Two Israeli officials told Reuters on Saturday that Israel was not involved in the blasts, but it remains unclear whether the blasts were linked to any US military action.
The reported explosions come 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, according to Iranian officials.
US 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 on Saturday, 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’.
Credit: Sabrina Penty, msn.com