Middle East Crisis Iran War

Explosions in Southern Iran – for the Third Day in a Row

On Thursday evening, new explosions were heard in several places in southern Iran, Reuters reports, citing Iranian state media. Loud bangs were heard in Konarak and Bushehr, among others.

The US targeted Iran on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but during the evening a government source told CNN that the US military is not carrying out any attacks on Iran. Israeli sources the channel spoke to are also not aware of any attacks.

The explosions occur at the same time as the funeral procession for the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is nearing its end. The body of the former supreme leader has been carried through Iran for several days in a row.

According to Iran, the US targeted train tracks on the route to Mashhad, the city where Khamenei is to be buried, during Wednesday's attacks.

Expert: One of the parties will probably have to give way completely

The US has only two reasonable alternatives in Iran, and neither of them is good. Fredrik Meiton at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs' Middle East Program tells DN.

A comprehensive American attack, such as a ground invasion or prolonged airstrikes, is a bad idea because of the risk of rising oil prices, he says. But the only option that then remains is to accept Iranian control over the important Strait of Hormuz.

– Which would mean an enormous loss of prestige for the US, he tells the newspaper.

Meiton sees the situation as "a zero-sum game" where either the US or Iran will have to give way completely for the situation to change.