CAIRO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian security official said Saturday that a structure for talks with the United States is being established, following two explosions in Iran earlier in the day that Israeli officials have denied any involvement in.
The developments unfold amid heightened regional tensions and U.S. military movements.
At least four people were killed in a gas explosion at a residential building in Iran's southwestern province of Khuzestan on Saturday, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported, noting that the incident was caused by a gas leak at the four-unit building located in the provincial capital Ahvaz.
Separately, an explosion at an eight-story building in Bandar Abbas, a port city in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, killed at least one person and injured 14 others, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, with the cause under investigation.
Following the explosion, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, whose headquarters are in Hormozgan, said no drone attack has been carried out against any of its headquarters in the province, and no building affiliated with the force has been destroyed. The IRGC also roundly rejected rumors of the assassination of its Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri.
Meanwhile, senior Israeli officials, quoted by major Israeli media, denied any Israeli role in the two incidents. A security official told state-owned Kan TV News that "we are monitoring, it is not ours or from us." Channel 12 News reported the Israeli security establishment's assessment that the two explosions were likely caused by an "internal incident."
These developments came amid rising regional tensions, especially between Iran and the United States, with the latter bolstering its military presence in the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that a "massive armada" is heading toward Iran and indicated he has given Tehran a deadline. Meanwhile, a U.S. guided-missile destroyer, USS Delbert D. Black, recently made a port call in Eilat at the northern tip of the Red Sea.
On Saturday, Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich wrote on social media platform X that she had an interview with Trump earlier in the day, during which Trump indicated that Washington hopes to continue talks with Iran and achieve results. According to Heinrich, Trump also told her that Washington did not tell its Mideast allies about its plans for Iran.
On the Iranian side, Army Chief Amir Hatami warned Saturday that if the United States makes any mistake, it will definitely jeopardize its own security and that of Israel and the entire West Asia region, whereas Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani wrote later on X that the formation of a structure for negotiations with the United States is "progressing," without elaborating.
Additionally, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi was quoted on Saturday by RIA Novosti as saying that Tehran and Washington may cooperate on energy if they manage to resolve existing disagreements and conclude a new nuclear deal based on the U.S. recognition of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.
The evolving situation has alarmed regional leaders and sparked urgent calls from the international community for renewed diplomacy.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who held separate phone calls with his counterparts from Iran, Qatar, Türkiye and Oman, as well as with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, on Saturday urged the United States and Iran to resume negotiations and "reach a peaceful, consensual settlement" to the nuclear issue. ■
