Iran Says Hormuz Stays Shut Until Washington Accepts Its Seven-Day Plan, and Explosions Are Reported on Its Coast

Security chief Mohsen Rezaei was firmer, saying not a single gram of enriched uranium would leave Iran and that there would be no talks until Washington takes trust-building steps. A separate Gulf News report said Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator, told visiting Pakistani army chief Asim Munir that Tehran had "nothing new to say." Iran's conditions include a regional ceasefire, unfrozen assets and lifted oil sanctions.

What were the explosions in Hormozgan?

IRNA said the blasts were heard "a few minutes ago" in the Karpan area of Sirik, which overlooks the strait. It did not say whether the area was attacked or whether missiles were launched from it, and local sources had not described the cause. No casualties were reported. Arab News called them the first reported explosions in the area this month, during a relatively quiet stretch of a war that began in late February.

What did Netanyahu say?

At an election rally in Dimona on Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu said the only way to end the Iranian threat is to topple the government in Tehran and that he had directed Israel's military, Mossad and other security branches accordingly, without a timeline, Gulf News said. Israelis vote on 27 October.

The talks sit against a grim backdrop. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency counted at least 10 vessels attacked in or near the strait in the week to 18 October, the most since the war began in February, CBS News reported. Iran says it wants the US to end its naval blockade of Iranian ports, lift oil sanctions and halt fighting on all fronts, and Trump said last week the US would not attack Iran before the American midterm elections.

The coming days will show whether the Sirik blasts were an attack, a test or an accident, and whether the Pakistani and Qatari channels produce a response to the seven-day plan before the Israeli vote.