Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denied U.S. charges that Tehran was linked to an alleged plot to kill Donald Trump and called on Saturday for confidence-building between the two hostile countries, Reuters reported.

"Now ... a new scenario is fabricated ... as a killer does not exist in reality, scriptwriters are brought in to manufacture a third-rate comedy," Araqchi said in a post on X.

He was referring to the alleged plot which Washington said was ordered by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards to assassinate Trump, who won Tuesday's presidential election and takes office in January.

"The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect," Araqchi said.

"Iran is NOT after nuclear weapons, period. This is a policy based on Islamic teachings and our security calculations. Confidence-building is needed from both sides. It is not a one-way street," he added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said earlier that the claim was a "repulsive" plot by Israel and the Iranian opposition outside the country to "complicate matters between America and Iran".

Iranian analysts and insiders have not dismissed the possibility of a detente between Tehran and Washington under Trump, although without restoring diplomatic ties, read the report.

"Iran will act based on its own interests. It is possible that secret talks between Tehran and Washington take place. If security threats against the Islamic Republic are removed, anything is possible," Tehran-based analyst Saeed Laylaz said this week.

While facing off against arch-foe Israel, Iran’s clerical leadership is also concerned about the possibility of an all-out war in the region, where Israel is engaged in conflicts with Tehran's allies in Gaza and Lebanon.

At least 21 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, local media reported.

The blast occurred on the platform as passengers gathered for the departure of the Jaffar Express, scheduled to depart for Peshawar at 9am, Express News reported.

"The blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination," said the senior superintendent of police operations, Muhammad Baloch, Reuters reported.

Among the victims are women and children, according to the Medical Superintendent at Civil Hospital, who reported that 46 of the wounded were brought to the hospital for urgent treatment.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the attack, ordering an immediate investigation and labeling the incident as "a horrific act targeting innocent civilians."

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Pakistan's Punjab banned entry to many public spaces from Friday, including parks and zoos, as it sought to protect people from severe air pollution in parts of the eastern province.

The provincial capital Lahore has been engulfed in a thick, smoky haze this week and was consistently rated the world's most polluted city by Swiss group IQAir in its live rankings, prompting the closure of schools and work-from-home mandates, Reuters reported.

The Punjab government's Friday order placed a "complete ban on public entry in all parks ... zoos, play grounds, historical places, monuments, museums and joy/play lands" until Nov. 17 in areas including Lahore.

Many parts of South Asia suffer severe pollution as temperatures drop each winter and cold, heavy air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from stubble burning - the illegal practice of burning crop waste to quickly clear fields.

Punjab last week blamed toxic air wafting in from neighbouring India - where air quality has also reached hazardous levels - for the particularly high pollution this year.

IQAir rated the Indian capital New Delhi the world's second most polluted city on Friday, with government data indicating that farm fires in the neighbouring farming states of Punjab and Haryana were among the major contributors.

To discourage the practice which has been lower this year, India's federal government doubled fines imposed on violators on Wednesday.

Farmers with less than two acres of land will now have to pay 5,000 rupees ($60) for violations. Those owning between two and five acres will pay 10,000 rupees and farmers with more than five acres will pay 30,000 rupees, the environment ministry said.