Mashhad cleric says US has ‘collapsed,’ vows continued war

Missile strikes and explosions were reported in Tehran and several other parts of Iran early on Saturday, according to eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.

In Tehran, multiple areas were hit between about 3:30 a.m. and 4:35 a.m. Shahrak-e Rah Ahan was reportedly struck by four missiles at 3:45 a.m. The Ferdows Boulevard area was hit around 3:30 a.m., while three explosions were heard in District 22 and four more from the direction of Tehransar. Loud blasts were also reported in Lavizan and Shahr-e Ziba, and in Bidkaneh, west of the capital, attacks were said to have continued from 4:00 a.m. at roughly 10-minute intervals.

Elsewhere, two explosions were heard at 3:32 a.m. in Ahvaz, in southwestern Iran. In Isfahan, in central Iran, explosions were reported at 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., with the 3:00 a.m. blast described as the strongest. Shahreza, south of Isfahan, was reportedly hit by a missile at 3:00 a.m. In Yazd, in central Iran, several points in the mountains around the city were bombed at about 10:40 a.m. In Dezful and Andimeshk, in the southwest, five heavy explosions were reported between 11:40 a.m. and 11:48 a.m., shaking buildings, with the Dokouheh area said to have been targeted.

Azim Esmaili, a deputy at the Basij Organization, was killed in a March 17 attack in Tehran alongside the group’s chief, Gholamreza Soleimani.

Esmaili had previously served as head of personnel and inspection at the IRGC’s Khuzestan branch.

Explosions and military activity were reported in several parts of Iran early on Saturday, according to eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.

In Fardis, west of Tehran in Alborz province, a Basij base and an old prayer site were said to have been turned into a base for special forces. Witnesses in Isfahan reported the sound of fighter jets overhead and several large explosions before dawn.

In southern Iran, Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf was rocked by repeated explosions from around 8 a.m., with blasts heard about every 10 minutes. On Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, witnesses reported the sound of several fighter jets at about 5 a.m.

A village in Ramsar, a city on the Caspian Sea coast, was hit at 3:37 a.m., with a strong explosion heard and a residential unit struck. In Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh, also in the north near the Caspian Sea, an area was targeted around 4 a.m. and a large blast was heard.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz said on Friday that Iran is seeking to push up energy prices and create global economic pressure to ensure its survival.

Speaking at a CNN town hall, Waltz siad Tehran is trying to “sow chaos” by targeting its neighbors, critical infrastructure, and energy markets, adding that it aims to “hold the world hostage.” He said President Donald Trump has weighed those risks against the possibility of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Waltz said Washington is taking measures to contain rising prices and plans to expand domestic energy production, including oil, gas, and nuclear, to counter what he described as Iran’s strategy.

Iran’s Consulate General in Mumbai said on Friday Tehran currently has “essentially no floating crude or surplus available for international markets,” responding to recent remarks by the US Treasury Secretary aimed at reassuring global oil buyers amid the ongoing supply disruption tied to the war with Iran.