A day before a planned naval exercise by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, an explosion ripped through an apartment building in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on the strait on Saturday.
The explosion killed a 4-year-old girl while local media footage reportedly showed a member of the security forces being evacuated by rescuers.
Iran plans naval exercise Sunday and Monday in the strait, narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of the oil traded passes. The US military has warned Iran not to threaten its warships or commercial traffic in the strait.
State television cited a local fire official who blamed a gas leak for the explosion. Media reports reported at least 14 others were injured in the explosion.
Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP 
A local newspaper, Sobh-e Sahel, broadcast images of a correspondent speaking in front of the building. The footage included footage showing a man in a green security forces uniform being carried on a stretcher. He was wearing a neck brace and appeared to be in pain, his left hand covering the branch insignia on his uniform.
The newspaper did not acknowledge that the security force member had been executed elsewhere in its reporting. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards have not discussed the explosion, only denying that a Guard naval commander was injured.
Another explosion blamed on a gas explosion on Saturday in the southwestern town of Ahvaz killed five people, state media reported.
Iran remains tense facing a threat from President Trump has potentially launch a military strike against the country following the killing of peaceful protesters or a possible mass execution of those detained in a major crackdown on protests.
Speaking on CBS News Thursday evening On the red carpet at the premiere of “Melania” — the documentary that provides a glimpse into the life of first lady Melania Trump in the days following her husband’s 2024 election victory — Mr. Trump said, “I’ve had” conversations with Iran in recent days and “I plan” to have more.
Mr. Trump said that in those conversations he “told them two things. One, no nuclear power. And two, stop killing the protesters. They’re killing them by the thousands.”
At least ten US warships – including an aircraft carrier and at least five destroyers – were heading towards Iranian coastal waters on Friday.
“We have a lot of very large, very powerful ships sailing toward Iran right now,” Trump told CBS News on Thursday. “And it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.”
Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian security official, wrote on Saturday evening on X that “structural arrangements for the negotiations are progressing.” CBS News on Friday requested clarification from the White House on any ongoing direct negotiations between the Trump administration and Tehran.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday called for de-escalation and said Egypt was working to bring the United States and Iran to the negotiating table to achieve a “peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue,” according to a statement issued during his phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Qatar said in a statement that Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visited Tehran on Saturday and met Larijani over “efforts to defuse tensions in the region.”
