IRAN-US HOLD NUCLEAR PROGRAMME TALKS IN OMAN

A massive explosion and fire rocked a port on Saturday in southern Iran, purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant, killing five people and injuring more than 700 others.

- Associated Press

MUSCAT:

Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, a provincial disaster management official, gave the updated casualty figure in an interview on state television. The previous toll was four dead and more than 500 others injured.

The blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the US met on Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme.

While no one in Iran outright suggested that the explosion came from an attack, even Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led the talks, on Wednesday, acknowledged that "our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response."