Iran military spokesman threatens US forces, claims attacks in Dubai

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that Tehran would respond forcefully if its infrastructure or economic centers were targeted.

In a post on X, Pezeshkian said Iran did not carry out preemptive attacks but would retaliate strongly if attacked.

He also warned regional countries not to allow Iran’s adversaries to use their territory to wage war against the country.

“If you want development and security, don't let our enemies run the war from your lands,” he said.

Explosions, missile strikes, and other military activity were reported across several Iranian cities on Saturday, according to eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.

The capital Tehran saw a series of strikes overnight. A government building in the Tochal-Velenjak area was hit and destroyed at 1:10 a.m. Several heavy explosions were also heard in Hakimiyeh between midnight and 1 a.m.

Multiple blasts and bright flashes were then reported in Lavizan at 1:04 a.m. An explosion was reported on the Simon Bolivar street at 2 a.m., and at about 3 a.m. the satellite research center at Iran University of Science and Technology was hit, with the blast wave damaging nearby buildings.

Several explosions were also heard at 2:03 a.m. in Shahin Vila in Karaj, west of Tehran.

In central Iran, a heavy explosion was reported at 1:35 a.m. at an army artillery site in Isfahan.

Further west, a missile struck in Borujerd, a city in Lorestan province, at 4 a.m.

In the southwest, multiple missile launches were reported from Shadgan in Khuzestan province.

Later on Saturday, warplanes and an explosion were heard near Mount Derak in Shiraz, in southern Iran, while several warplanes were reported flying at low altitude over Hamedan in the west at 11:46 a.m.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a phone call lasting more than an hour on regional tensions and peace efforts, the Pakistani prime minister’s office said on Saturday.

According to the statement, Pezeshkian told Sharif that trust was needed for talks and praised Islamabad’s role in efforts to promote peace.

Sharif briefed Pezeshkian on his diplomatic outreach to the United States and Persian Gulf states, said the statement.

Damage from overnight strikes into early Saturday affected buildings at the Iran University of Science and Technology, according to video shared with Iran International, showing impact across parts of the campus.

Iran remained under a nationwide internet blackout on Saturday, four weeks after authorities cut access to the global internet on February 28, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said.

NetBlocks said the disruption had reached 672 hours, with the blackout still in effect at the end of its fourth full week.

"After four full weeks, 672 hours, the blackout remains in effect, violating Iranians' right to communicate and stay informed," the internet monitoring group said.