Iran was rocked by two explosions on Saturday as officials rushed to deny that an assassination attempt had taken place.
Four people were killed in a gas explosion at a residential building in Ahvaz, in the west of the country, according to the state-run Tehran Times. It was unclear what had caused the blast.
One person was killed and 14 were injured as a second detonation shook the southern port of Bandar Abbas.
Initial reports claiming the Revolutionary Guard navy commander was targeted in the explosion were “completely false”, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.
Two unnamed Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not involved in either blast, at a time of heightened tension between Iran, the US and Israel.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier on Saturday that Israel, the US and European leaders had incited recent unrest in Iran and provided people with the means to “tear the nation apart”.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi nonetheless said Iran was open to talks with the US, provided they were “fair and equitable”, after Donald Trump told them to make a deal or face the consequences, as he moved a “massive armada” to the region.
