Search ends despite many still missing, Red Crescent says

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth plans to visit Israel on May 12 for meetings with senior officials ahead of President Donald Trump’s regional trip, Axios reported.

Citing two Israeli officials, Axios said that Hegseth is expected to meet with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before traveling to Saudi Arabia to join Trump’s regional tour, which includes stops in Qatar and the UAE. The report said that Trump is not currently expected to visit Israel.

The report said that this will be Hegseth’s first visit to Israel since taking office and comes as the US and Israeli governments remain divided over the possibility of military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, while the war in Gaza and the US military campaign in Yemen continue.

The absence of identification documents is leaving an unknown number of Baluch workers unaccounted for following the explosion at Rajaei port, with no active search underway for them, a field report in Payam-e Ma newspaper highlighted.

The newspaper's correspondent visited the Khoon Sorkh village near Rajaei port and spoke with residents in the port workers' neighborhood. Mohammad Abdollahi, a member of the village council, said that the majority of workers at Rajaei port are Baluch.

One resident, identified only as Mohammad, told the newspaper, "God knows how many of these workers were inside those warehouses or containers. One of the contractors told us 20 of his workers are missing, but he doesn't dare to say anything because they need to be able to work at the port again."

Esmail Hajizadeh, the executive secretary of the Hormozgan Province Workers' House, had previously said that the number of Baloch daily wage workers from Sistan-Baluchistan province who died remains unclear. According to him, some of these workers did not possess identification cards or did not have them on their person at the time of the incident.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday, "If we engage in negotiations, create calm, and improve our relations, we will achieve very good outcomes."

However, he added, "it’s not the case that if the negotiations reach a deadlock, we ourselves will be at a dead end."

One major blaze broke out at a cardboard manufacturing factory in the city of Nazarabad.

Stormy weather in the area caused the fire to spread to 12 nearby units, a local governor said, adding that efforts are underway to bring the blaze under control.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, and there have been no reports of casualties.

Around the same time, another fire was reported near the Montazer Ghaem power plant in the city of Fardis.

The state-run YJC news agency initially released a video that purportedly showed no fire at the facility.

However, Iranian officials later confirmed the report. Hossein Ashouri, head of the Fardis fire department, said the fire began around 8:41 p.m. in a portable cabin next to a waste platform near the power station.

Strong winds caused the flames to spread over approximately 2,000 square meters. Nine additional fire trucks were deployed, and the blaze was brought under control.

Preliminary findings suggest the fire was caused by negligence on the part of the person stationed in the cabin.

Reports of explosion

Iranian officials have denied any link between the fire and the power plant's operation. However, widespread power outages were reported in several areas of the province.

Residents across Alborz Province told Iran International they heard an explosion shortly before 9 p.m., moments before experiencing an earthquake.

Iran’s Seismological Center confirmed that the 4.0-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 8 kilometers near Mahdasht, on the border of Alborz and Tehran provinces.

A senior official at Shahid Rajaei port has dismissed media reports suggesting the presence of explosives or hazardous materials at the facility, calling the reports exaggerated and aimed at stirring public concern.

Behzad Faraji, deputy for operations and dangerous goods at the port, emphasized that the port adheres strictly to international maritime regulations for handling dangerous cargo, known as the IMDG Code.

“Dangerous goods are divided into nine categories under these guidelines,” Faraji said. “Explosives (Class 1) and radioactive materials (Class 7) are not stored in any port under these rules. I can say with certainty that there are no explosives at Shahid Rajaei Port.”

He added that the rumors being circulated are baseless and intended to create unnecessary public alarm.