Explosion Reported in West Tehran, Denied by Official

A general view of Tehran city, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. (Reuters)
A general view of Tehran city, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. (Reuters)
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Explosion Reported in West Tehran, Denied by Official

A general view of Tehran city, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. (Reuters)
A general view of Tehran city, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. (Reuters)

An explosion was heard in western Tehran on Friday, state broadcaster IRIB said, citing online reports that a senior official in that part of the city denied.

IRIB said power was cut in the area of the city suburbs where the blast occurred. It provided no further information about the cause of the blast or possible casualties.

The governor of Qod city, Leila Vaseghi, was quoted by the semi-official Fars News agency as saying no explosion had occurred, but that there was a power outage that lasted about five minutes.

It was not immediately clear if the reported incident had taken place in Qod or in a different area of Western Tehran, and residents contacted by Reuters in other parts of the city said they had heard no explosion.

There have been multiple explosions around military, nuclear and industrial facilities in the past week.

Two people were killed in an explosion at a factory in the south of Tehran, state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Last Thursday, a fire broke out at a ground level building at Iran’s underground Natanz facility, the centerpiece of the country’s uranium enrichment program, which authorities said had caused significant damage.

Also last week, 19 people were killed in an explosion at a medical clinic in the north of Tehran, which an official said was caused by a gas leak.

On June 26, an explosion occurred east of Tehran near the Parchin military and weapons development base that authorities said was caused by a leak at a gas storage facility in an area outside the base.



Congo and Rwanda to Sign US-mediated Peace Deal to End Conflict in Eastern Congo

FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo
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Congo and Rwanda to Sign US-mediated Peace Deal to End Conflict in Eastern Congo

FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are set to sign a peace deal facilitated by the US to help end the decadeslong deadly fighting in eastern Congo.

The deal, to be signed in Washington Friday, would also help the US government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the conflict-battered, mineral-rich region, The Associated Press said.

The Central African nation of Congo has been ripped apart by conflict with more than 100 armed groups. The most prominent is the M23 rebel group, backed by neighboring Rwanda, whose major advance early this year left bodies littered on the streets.

With 7 million people displaced in Congo, the UN has called it “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”

Lauded by President Trump last week as “a Great Day for Africa and ... for the World,” the crucial deal comes as part of other ongoing peace talks to end the conflict, including ones mediated by the African Union as well as Qatar.

The agreement involves provisions on respect for territorial integrity, a prohibition of hostilities as well as the disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration of non-state armed groups, US State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters on Thursday.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric also said on Thursday that such a deal is welcomed, adding: “We talk almost every day about ... the horrific suffering of civilians, the hunger, the sexual violence, the constant fear, the constant displacement” in eastern Congo.

The peace deal will likely not end the conflict quickly Congo hopes the US will provide it with the security support needed to fight the rebels and possibly get them to withdraw from the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, and from the entire region where Rwanda is estimated to have up to 4,000 troops. Rwanda has said it is defending its territorial interests and not supporting the M23.

However, the M23 rebels have suggested the agreement won’t be binding on them. The rebel group has not been directly involved in the planned peace deal although it has been part of other ongoing peace talks.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes the M23, told the Associated Press in March that direct peace talks with Congo can only be held if the country acknowledges their grievances and that “anything regarding us which are done without us, it’s against us.”

An M23 spokesman, Oscar Balinda, also echoed those thoughts in an interview with AP this week, saying the US-facilitated deal does not concern the rebels.

The US' role in ending the conflict

Analysts say the US government’s commitment might depend on how much access it has to the minerals being discussed under a separate minerals deal being negotiated.

The mostly untapped minerals — estimated to be worth as much as $24 trillion by the US Department of Commerce — are critical to much of the world’s technology.

Christian Moleka, a political scientist at the Congolese think tank Dypol, called the planned deal a “major turning point” in the decadeslong conflict, but that the signing could "in no way eliminate all the issues of the conflict.”

“The current draft agreement ignores war crimes and justice for victims by imposing a partnership between the victim and the aggressor,” he said. “This seems like a trigger-happy proposition and cannot establish lasting peace without justice and reparation.”

In Congo's North Kivu province, the hardest hit by the fighting, some believe the peace deal will help resolve the violence but warn justice must still be served for an enduring peace to take hold.

“I don't think the Americans should be trusted 100%,” said Hope Muhinuka, an activist from the province. “It is up to us to capitalize on all we have now as an opportunity.”