Explosion in eastern Tehran province was controlled ammunition disposal, state media says * Turkey’s FM says ‘no reason to have open conflict’ with Israel, in apparent bid to calm tensions
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they unfold.
Deadly Spain wildfire appears to ease, official says
A wildfire that has killed at least 12 people in southern Spain is showing signs of easing, allowing firefighters to directly attack the flames for the first time, officials say.
The fire has burned around 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres) since erupting on Thursday in the southeastern Los Gallardos area of Andalusia, mobilizing hundreds of firefighters and soldiers, backed by aircraft.
Nearly 1,500 people have been evacuated from the affected area as a result of one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires in recent years.
Antonio Sanz, the Andalusian regional government’s emergency chief, says weather conditions have improved with higher air humidity levels and nearly no wind.
“The overnight evolution has been favorable and the weather conditions allow us to face the day with better prospects than yesterday,” he tells reporters.
Explosion in eastern Tehran province was controlled ammunition disposal — Iranian media
An explosion heard in the eastern part of Tehran province was caused by the controlled disposal of ammunition remaining from the war, Iranian state media says, citing a local official.
The official says the operation posed no threat to citizens and that no incident occurred.
Earlier, Iranian state media reported that an explosion was heard in the eastern part of Tehran province, with residents of Pakdasht and Qiyamdasht reporting the blast while its source and exact location were not immediately known.
Iran state media reports explosion heard in eastern part of Tehran province
Iranian state media reports that an explosion was heard in the eastern part of Tehran province, without providing a reason.
Residents of Pakdasht and Qiyamdasht reported hearing the explosion, while its source and exact location are not immediately known, state media says.
Trump says US will ‘completely decimate and destroy’ Iran if it attempts to kill him
US President Donald Trump says he has ordered the military to be prepared to launch strikes against Iran if the Iranian government carries out or attempts an assassination of the president.
“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!,” he says in a Truth Social post.
“Orders have already been given, and the US Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran — PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”
The remarks come after the funeral of supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei saw open calls for Trump’s killing.
Iran insists it has ‘kept its word’ on ceasefire with US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has “kept its word” on a ceasefire with the United States, after Donald Trump insisted the truce was over but that he had agreed to further negotiations with the Islamic Republic.
“Iran has so far kept its word, unlike the so-called US Treasury Secretary who is violating Para 9 of the MoU,” Araghchi posts on X, referring to part of the memorandum of understanding about the United States not deploying additional forces in the region.
Turkey’s FM says ‘no reason to have open conflict’ with Israel, in apparent bid to calm tensions
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Turkey and Israel aren’t destined for conflict, in remarks apparently aimed at pulling Ankara back from an increasingly heated rhetorical war with Jerusalem.
“I think there is no reason to have an open conflict,” Fidan says in an interview with the National.
“I’ve been telling, whenever I hear this rhetoric (against Turkey coming from the Israeli politicians, especially as they get closer to the upcoming elections, from both coalition and opposition figures — not all the opposition figures. Thank God, there are still very sane and good people with wisdom and strategic mind in Israel.”
“Not all of them are like Netanyahu and some people, but Netanyahu and some people, as they get closer to the elections, they need an enemy. They were at war Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, and now they need another enemy,” Fidan adds, saying the enemy has become Turkey for many Israeli politicians.
Venezuela raises earthquake death toll to over 4,000 as thousands more still missing
The death toll in Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes has increased to more than 4,000, the government says.
At least 4,118 people were killed and 16,740 injured in the back-to-back June 24 quakes, which flattened entire districts in the coastal state of La Guaira, Venezuelan parliament chief Jorge Rodriguez writes on Telegram.
Thousands more are listed as missing.
US demanding Iran publicly vow to stop attacks in Hormuz, say it won’t impose tolls
The United States is demanding that Iran publicly state it will stop attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and that all lanes in the strait will be open to shipping with no tolls, senior US officials say.
Iran has adamantly refused to give up control of the strait, the strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply typically flows.
The US officials say conversations between the two countries have been productive in recent days. They make the comments to a small group of reporters in a conference call.
“What we’re demanding is that the Iranians issue a public statement that acknowledges all channels of the Strait of Hormuz are open and they’re not shooting at ships anymore. They’re either going to give us that statement or we’re not having a good outcome for them,” one official says.
Iran has told Washington that recent attacks on shipping in the strait were from “an errant part of their system,” one senior official says.
There appears to be a power struggle unfolding in real time between hardliners in Iran and pragmatists, an official says.
“We are hoping to get to a place where they publicly say that they will stop shooting at ships and sort of explicitly or at least implicitly acknowledging that they screwed up. We are working on that now,” one official says.
“The president has directed us to talk but as he’s shown a willingness to do, if they keep on shooting at ships or they engage on any other hostile acts, then we’re going to hit ’em back,” the official says.
The fundamental demand from the US side is that Iran turn over its nuclear materials. Tehran is believed to possess more than 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium, which Trump and other US officials call “nuclear dust.”
The nuclear issue is supposed to be dealt with under a 60-day period for negotiations based on a memorandum of understanding that was signed in June by the two countries.
“I just want to be clear here that if we don’t get the dust, we do not have a deal with Iran,” one official says.
The official says “we have a lot of options” if Iran refuses, including military and economic options.
Satellite imagery shows Iran may be trying to rebuild nuclear facilities — CNN
Satellite imagery obtained by CNN shows Iran may be trying to rebuild its nuclear facilities during the fragile ceasefire in the war with the US and Israel.
The images from several nuclear and missile sites suggest that Iran may have violated the memorandum of understanding it signed with the US last month, in which it committed to maintaining the status quo in its nuclear program.
At one nuclear facility, in Parchin, where explosive material for nuclear bombs is thought to be held, images from June and this month show efforts to repair holes made by bunker-busting bombs during the recent war.
The images were analyzed in conjunction with the Institute for Science and International Security, which has published previous reports on Iranian efforts to build out nuclear facilities.
Images also show trucks going in and out of the facility at Pickaxe Mountain, another suspected nuclear site. Images also show construction activity at missile sites.
