Strait of Hormuz cannot be held hostage, UAE presidential advisor says

Powerful explosions were heard from a military site in northern Iran and an attack was reported in the southwestern city of Khorramshahr early on Monday, according to eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.

Seven large blasts were heard at about 4:45 a.m. at the Fath military base, a helicopter production site between Malard and Meshkin Dasht in Alborz province.

Khorramshahr in Khuzestan province also came under attack on Monday morning, eyewitnesses said.

Mizan, which is affiliated with the judiciary, said the sentence against Ali Fahim had been carried out.

Three other defendants in the same case - Amirhossein Hatami, Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast - had already been executed.

The case relates to a fire at the Shahid Mahmoud Kaveh Basij base in east Tehran on the evening of January 8, after which seven people were arrested.

All seven were sentenced over “enmity against God” (moharebeh), a charge that carries the death penalty.

A Ghanaian national was moderately injured after a strike in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, authorities said.

The injury was caused by falling debris after a successful air defense interception in the Musaffah area, Abu Dhabi Media Office said.

Authorities said the debris hit the Raneen Systems company in ICAD in the Musaffah area.

An attack on two residential units in the town of Ghaleh Mir in Tehran’s Baharestan county killed 13 people, according to the IRGC-affiliated Fars News.

Baharestan governor Morad Moradi was quoted as saying that debris removal and searches were continuing for possible survivors under the rubble.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that it was not clear why the building had been targeted.

AP said neither Israel nor the United States had claimed responsibility for the early Monday strike, which came after threats by US President Donald Trump that Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The sources said, the negotiations are taking place through mediators from Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey and also through direct text messages exchanged between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The diplomatic push comes as the conflict enters its sixth week.

When the war began in late February, President Donald Trump suggested the campaign could last four to five weeks, though fighting has continued and threats of further escalation have mounted.

According to the sources, mediators are working on a two-phase framework. The first phase would involve a 45-day ceasefire during which negotiations would take place on a permanent end to the conflict. One source said the ceasefire could be extended if more time were needed for talks.

The second phase would focus on reaching a comprehensive agreement to end the war.

Sources said mediators believe that issues such as fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resolving the question of Iran’s highly enriched uranium would likely only be addressed as part of a final settlement.

In recent days Trump has warned that the United States could target Iran’s power plants and bridges if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian officials have responded defiantly, with the Revolutionary Guards naval command saying the waterway “will never return to normal,” especially for Israel and the United States.

According to Axios, however, diplomatic contacts are continuing behind the scenes.

The outlet cited a US official as saying that Washington has presented Tehran with several proposals in recent days, but Iranian officials have not yet accepted them.

According to another source, the mediators are "highly concerned" that Iran would retaliate to a potential US-Israeli strike on the country's energy infrastructure and cause extensive damage to the region's oil and water facilities.