Explosions rock Iran with at least four dead after Donald Trump threatened to attack regime over deaths of protesters

At least four people died in two explosions in Iran on Saturday, as violent protests continued.

An explosion occurred near Bander Abbas, Iran’s southern port on the Strait of Hormuz, which carries approximately one fifth of the world’s seaborne oil.

A second explosion occurred 600 miles away at an eight-story building in the town of Ahvaz, killing four people, local media reported.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said social media reports that a navy commander from the Revolutionary Guard was targeted in the second explosion were ‘completely unfounded’.

Pictures show serious damage to the lower floors of the tower block, while several cars and a shop were also reported damaged.

In the footage, debris can be seen scattered on the street after the explosion.

Iranian media reported that the explosion was being investigated but no further information was provided, and the cause of both explosions was not yet known.

Two Israeli officials told Reuters on Saturday that Israel had nothing to do with the explosions.

The reported explosions took place amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington after Iranian authorities cracked down on the biggest protests to rock the country in three years, and also amid ongoing Western concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

At least four people died in an explosion in a residential building. Pictured above are thick clouds of smoke rising from an apartment block following an explosion in Iran

The screenshot shows damage following an explosion at a building in Bandar Abbas, a Gulf coast port in southern Iran, but the cause of the explosion is not yet known

Nationwide protests erupted in December over economic difficulties, posing one of the toughest challenges for the country’s clerical rulers.

According to Iranian officials, at least 5,000 people have been killed in the protests, including 500 security forces.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a ‘armada’ was heading towards Iran.

Multiple sources said Friday that Trump is weighing options against Iran, including attacks targeting its security forces.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud ⁠Pezeshkian accused US, Israeli and European leaders of exploiting Iran’s economic problems, fomenting unrest and providing people with the means to ‘split the nation’.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have risen following a brutal crackdown on protests across the country.

Trump had threatened military action if Iran continued to kill peaceful protesters or mass execute those detained.

There have been no further protests for days, and Trump recently claimed that Tehran had halted the planned execution of nearly 800 detained protesters; Iran’s attorney general called this claim ‘completely false’.

Pictures show serious damage to the lower floors of the tower block

State television reported that the explosion occurred in an eight-storey building and that “two floors, many vehicles and stores were destroyed.”

Pictured is the damage to a store front and a vehicle following Saturday’s explosion

The reported explosions took place amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington

It was learned that the investigation into the explosion continues

The explosions came after multiple sources said Friday that Trump was weighing options against Iran, including attacks targeting its security forces.

But the President said on Thursday he was keeping his options open, saying any military intervention would make the US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities last June “look like peanuts.”

US Central Command stated on social media that the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle now has a presence in the Middle East, stating that the fighter jet ‘increases combat readiness and supports regional security and stability’.

Similarly, the UK Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that it had deployed Typhoon warplanes to Qatar for ‘defensive purposes’.

The protests that started in Iran on December 28, when the Iranian currency, the rial, lost value and quickly spread throughout the country. These were met with violent repression by the Iranian theocracy, which does not tolerate dissent.

The death toll reported by activists has continued to rise since the demonstrations ended; Information continues to leak despite an internet blackout that lasted more than two weeks, the most extensive internet outage in Iranian history.

In addition to the possibility of a US military attack, the Iranian regime faces the danger of further financial difficulties.

Trump warned that any country doing business with Iran would pay a 25 percent tariff on trade with the United States, effective immediately.

England also put pressure on the regime.

Iran has been rocked by violent protests this month. Picture: Families and residents gathered at the Kahrizak Coroner’s Office face rows of body bags as they search for relatives killed during the regime’s violent crackdown on protests

Protesters in Tehran set a vehicle on fire. Even by the regime’s own estimates, between 2,000 and 3,000 people were killed; but new figures show the death toll is more than 33,000

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a meeting in Tehran, Iran last week

Earlier this month, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper spoke to Mr Araghchi and called on the Iranian government to ‘immediately end the violence, support fundamental rights and freedoms and ensure British citizens are safe’.

But ministers were under pressure to act after more than 100 protesters gathered outside Downing Street on Saturday to call on the Government to ban the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Keir Starmer has refused to make it illegal to support the group because he believes it would have no impact and would only make Britain ‘feel better’.

Downing Street said the prime minister ‘fully condemns’ the violence by authorities in Iran.

Meanwhile, the country’s exiled Iranian crown prince has vowed to seize power ‘that this regime has seized’ and return it to his citizens.

Reza Pahlavi, whose terminally ill father fled Iran just before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, reiterated his ‘unwavering commitment to democracy and human rights’.

He told reporters at a press conference on January 16: ‘That was my attitude the day I started working and it remains so until today.

‘Them [the Iranian people] I know they can trust me because I’ve never given up on that, and ultimately what I’m trying to make sure is that the final element that will prove to the Iranians, who have full control over their own destiny, is to give back to the power that was taken away from them by this regime that we’re fighting today.

Heavily armed trucks were seen patrolling Tehran on Saturday after being deployed to protect government facilities

A woman carries a banner while standing in front of the Iranian flag before the 1979 Islamic Revolution during a demonstration in solidarity with Iranian protesters in Holon, central Israel, on January 24, 2026

‘This is my commitment and they can trust me on this.’

Mr Pahlavi also shouted ‘Death to the dictator!’ He also encouraged the protesters who chanted slogans such as. and ‘Death to the Islamic Republic!’ – to make their voices heard.

‘Great nation Iran, the eyes of the world are on you. Take to the streets and shout your demands as a united front,’ he said earlier this month.

‘I warn the Islamic Republic, its leader and (the Revolutionary Guard) that the world and (US President Donald Trump) are watching you closely. ‘The oppression of the people will not remain unanswered.’