Explosions were reported in Iran’s south-western city of Shiraz on Saturday as Iranian officials said at least 70 people had been killed in attacks in the southern province of Hormozgan, and the country’s foreign minister said the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was alive “as far as I know”.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported several explosions in Shiraz, without immediately providing details on casualties or the locations struck. The reports could not be independently verified.
In Hormozgan province, the head of Hormozgan Medical Sciences told Fars that at least 70 people had been killed and more than 90 wounded in attacks on Minab and Jask. Those figures could not be immediately verified. Earlier reports said an elementary girls’ school in Minab was hit, with more than 50 people reported killed.
The developments come amid a fast-moving escalation in and around Iran following reported US and Israeli strikes across multiple Iranian locations. President Donald Trump has described the operation as the start of “major combat operations”, according to reporting carried by international media. Iran has said it has responded with missile and drone attacks against Israel and US-linked bases in the Gulf.
In an interview with NBC News, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Khamenei was alive “as far as I know”, amid widespread speculation about the leader’s status following strikes reported in the capital.
Araghchi told NBC there was no communication with the United States “as of now” and said that if Washington wanted talks “they know how to reach out to the Iranians”, but added that attacks would have to stop before there was any possibility of negotiations.
He also dismissed Mr Trump’s reported messaging about regime change as “mission impossible”, while saying there remained “a possibility” of reaching a deal that could guarantee Iran’s nuclear programme is peaceful.
Araghchi said “one or two commanders were killed”, but that most officials were alive. He also said Iran does not have the capability to hit the US and would not build missiles that could do so.
In Washington, Republican congressman Thomas Massie said he was “opposed to this war”, writing on social media that US involvement was “not ‘America First’”. He said he would work to force a Congressional vote on any war with Iran, adding: “The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.”
The reported casualty figures in Hormozgan are likely to intensify international scrutiny of the strikes and the conduct of the conflict, particularly following the accounts of a school being hit in Minab during school hours. No immediate confirmation was available from the US or Israel regarding the specific incidents reported by Iranian outlets.
Iranian authorities and state-linked media have issued differing tallies throughout the day, and communications disruptions and access constraints have made independent verification difficult.
Further updates are expected as officials in Iran, the US and Israel issue additional statements and as the scale of reported damage and casualties becomes clearer.