Iran says 'serious disagreements' may collapse US talks

Oman's foreign minister announced that a fourth round of high-level talks will be held on May 3 between Iran and the United States.

US-Iran talks held on Saturday identified a shared aspiration to reach an agreement based on mutual respect and enduring commitments, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X.

"Core principles, objectives and technical concerns were all addressed," he said.

The number of fatalities in Saturday's explosion at Shahid Rajaei port in southern Iran is in the dozens, local sources told Iran International.

Earlier Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported that only four individuals were killed in the blast.

The figures announced officially account only for those who were in the surrounding areas, not at the heart of the explosion, a source familiar with the situation told Iran International.

A source close to the family of one of the victims, who shared images and videos from the site with Iran International, said: "Why does the Islamic Republic insist on claiming that no one was killed or that the number of deaths is low?"

Hundreds have been injured, and hospitals lack the capacity and resources to treat them, a family member of an injured person told Iran International, speaking outside a hospital in Bandar Abbas and sharing video footage.

Another Iran International viewer sent a video showing the body of a coworker lying among trucks at the site.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed deep regret over the Bandar Abbas port explosion and ordered a full investigation into the cause of the incident, he said in a post on social media on Saturday.

"While expressing deep sorrow and sympathy with the victims in Hormozgan province, I have ordered an investigation into the situation and the causes of the incident," Pezeshkian wrote on X.

He added that Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni had been dispatched as his special representative to "conduct a thorough review of the accident, coordinate relief efforts, and address the needs of the injured."

Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday denied that its defense or missile capabilities have been discussed in indirect negotiations with the United States.

"The issue of Iran’s defensive and missile capabilities has not been and is not a topic of discussion in the talks," foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei was quoted as saying by state media.

Baghaei rejected reports by "some Western media," including one by Reuters that quoted an Iranian official as saying Iran’s missile program remained a major obstacle to reaching an agreement with Washington.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon said Saturday that the explosion at Shahid Rajaei port in Bandar Abbas was "much smaller" than the 2020 Beirut port blast and could not be compared.

"The fire began after a container exploded near a fuel storage site," Mojtaba Amani wrote on X. He said about 300 people were injured, with damage reported to nearby buildings and vehicles, and that investigations were underway to determine the exact cause and any negligence.

Some social media users had compared Saturday’s explosion to the 2020 Beirut blast, which was triggered by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate improperly stored for six years at the port.

Iran’s state television earlier reported the Bandar Abbas explosion was not linked to an ammonia tank.