3 explosions jolt southern Iran

TEHRAN: Three strong explosions jolted southern Iran on Thursday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, but it was not clear if there were any casualties. The cause of the explosions in Khorramshahr in the province of Khuzestan, which borders Iraq, was not clear, but a local journalist said they were controlled explosions to destroy land mines left in the area since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. “The governor’s office informed people on Wednesday night that mine-sweeping activities will take place on Thursday,” a journalist with Iran’s state television told Reuters. An Oil Ministry official said the explosions occurred far away from any oil facilities in Khuzestan, the heartland of Iran’s oil industry, where small bombs damaged 15 pipelines and one oil well in September 2005.

Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenges. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.