Woman recounts moment blast wave threw her away

“We don’t know of any [Israeli] connection” to the deadly explosion in Rajaei port in southern Iran on Saturday, The Times of Israel reported citing an Israeli official.

Israel and the United States are in close, open contact over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, The Times of Israel reported on Monday citing an Israeli official.

“We have a dialogue with the Americans, the dialogue is not one-sided and we also express positions,” the official was quoted as saying.

“There is an ongoing dialogue on many levels. I would urge you to avoid premature conclusions. There is a good, intimate relationship between the governments.”

Many young women are missing following the deadly explosion at Rajaei port, said a labor official on Monday.
“Three female workers were confirmed dead and one remained missing, while numerous families have reported their daughters lost at the site,” Esmail Hajizadeh, executive secretary of the Hormozgan Workers' House, told ILNA news outlet.

He added that many truck drivers are also unaccounted for.
"Families are wandering the port, desperately searching for their children," Hajizadeh said.

90% of the fire at Rajaei port had been extinguished, with full containment expected after final cleanup operations, said the head of Bandar Abbas Fire Department on Monday.
“The blaze would be fully under control within hours,” said Mohammad Amin Liaghat. However, despite repeated official claims since the morning, images from the scene showed fires still burning.

Firefighters were awaiting permits to deploy additional vehicles and equipment to avoid further injuries among emergency crews, Bandar Abbas mayor Mehdi Nobani told Mehr News Agency.

Revived US-Iran nuclear negotiations risk empowering Iran and accelerating a strategic shift away from Washington’s traditional influence in the Middle East, according to an analysis by Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.

Arab states, particularly in the Persian Gulf, have adopted a cautious stance toward the talks, not out of trust in Tehran but out of skepticism toward US reliability, political analyst Dalia Ziada wrote. "The muted Arab response is a hedging strategy."

Meanwhile, regional powers are advancing their own nuclear programs. Egypt is building a Russian-backed civilian nuclear plant at El Alamein and has recently conducted its first-ever joint military exercise with China, the article pointed out.

Saudi Arabia’s atomic energy project is progressing, with Riyadh exploring cooperation with China and Russia if the US does not allow domestic enrichment.

"Arab states are learning to live with ambiguity," Ziada wrote, adding that many are leveraging new relationships with Beijing and Moscow to balance Washington’s influence.