Day 3 of Explosions in Iran: Blasts Reported Near Bushehr Nuclear Plant, Strategic Port in Konarak

A recent exchange of fire saw the US targeting over 170 sites in Iran, while Jordan intercepted missiles aimed at US facilities.

Explosions were reported for a third consecutive day in southern Iran on Friday, including near the city of Bushehr, home to the country’s nuclear power plant, hours after fighting between the United States and Iran had intenified following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire. The latest reports came after both sides exchanged strikes on Thursday, signalling a further escalation in the conflict.

The cause of the latest explosions remained unclear, while US officials said the American military was not currently conducting strikes in Iran, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

Two explosions were heard in the areas around Bushehr, and the nearby city of Choghadak, according to Mehr News Agency. Local residents also reported hearing blasts in the cities of Bandar Abbas. Local newspaper Mehr news also reported three explosions in southern Iran’s Konarak province, which is home to a strategic port across the Gulf of Oman.

According to a report by state media outlet IRNA, Bushehr’s deputy governor for political and security affairs Ehsan Jahanian, said that the sound of the explosion was caused by a response from Iran’s air defences. Jahanian added that a military headquarters on the outskirts of Bushehr was struck by what he described as a projectile.

The US military on Thursday had said it had struck more than 170 targets across Iran over the previous 48 hours. Meanwhile, Jordan said it intercepted Iranian missiles in its airspace after Tehran launched attacks targeting US facilities in the Gulf.

Iran said it had fired at American targets in Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, and warned on Thursday that it could expand its attacks to other US military installations in the region. The warning came a day after US President Donald Trump said he believed the ceasefire was “over”.

Iranian authorities said 14 people had been killed and 78 injured in the latest round of tit-for-tat strikes, which began after Washington accused Iranian forces of targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said its latest strikes focused on military targets along Iran’s coastline in an effort to reduce the threat to commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.

Iran has not directly acknowledged responsibility for attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz but has maintained that commercial ships should follow a designated route through its territorial waters.

Iranian officials also said overnight US strikes hit a railway line linking Tehran with the northeastern city of Mashhad, where the country’s slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was expected to be buried on Thursday.

The claim could not be independently verified, and the US military did not immediately comment. Thursday’s burial follows several days of funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the conflict. The ceremonies have been carefully organised across multiple Iranian cities in what authorities have presented as a display of national unity and defiance.

Hours before the latest overnight strikes, President Trump dismissed the prospect of further negotiations with Tehran, describing them as “a waste of time”.

Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also struck a defiant tone, warning: “Hit, and you’ll be hit.”

However, as he returned to Washington, Trump said Iran had contacted him because they “want to make a deal so badly”. Iran has not publicly indicated that fresh negotiations are under way.

This is a Developing Story and will be updated soon