Iran Says 14 IRGC Specialists Killed in Zanjan Clearance Blast

Overview

• State media reported that an unexploded munition detonated during an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps clearance mission in Zanjan province, killing 14 specialists and injuring two.
• The IRGC’s Ansar al-Mahdi unit said the device was unknown and that the team was working in fields seeded with suspected cluster bombs and air-dropped mines.
• Officials quoted by Fars said about 1,200 hectares of farmland in the region remain contaminated, leaving farmers at risk until the land is fully swept and made safe.
• The IRGC said its teams have neutralized more than 15,000 items across affected areas since the fighting paused on April 8, yet this incident is its largest reported loss since the ceasefire.
• The deaths come as rhetoric hardens, with the IRGC accusing the U.S. of a disruption strategy and President Trump saying Iran’s latest proposal to end the conflict does not satisfy him.