The Customs Administration of Iran attributed the explosion to “a reserve of dangerous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area.”
Courtesy | They denied that the explosion had something to do with the country’s oil industry
A strong explosion and a fire, allegedly linked to a cargo of a chemical ingredient used to manufacture rocket fuel, shook a port in southern Iran on Saturday, causing the death of five people and hurting more than 700.
Mehrad Hasanzadeh, a provincial official of Disaster Management, gave the updated figure of victims in an interview with state television. The previous count was four dead and more than 500 injured.
The explosion, which occurred in the port of Shahid Rajaei, coincided with the third round of negotiations between Iran and the United States in Oman about the rapid progress program of Tehran.
Although in Iran no one has openly indicated that the explosion was due to an attack, even the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who heads the conversations, acknowledged that “our security services are on maximum alert given the previous examples of sabotage attempts and murder operations designed to cause a legitimate response.”
Hours after the incident, the authorities had not yet revealed the cause of the explosion in the port, located on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas, although they denied that the explosion is related to the country’s oil industry.
The port allegedly received a chemical to make missile fuel.
For hours, the Iranian authorities did not give a clear explanation about the cause of the explosion in the port, located on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas, although they denied that the explosion had something to do with the country’s oil industry.
However, the port received a cargo of “Sodium Percelore Rocket Fuel” in March, said Private Security Company Ambrey. The fuel is part of a cargo of China transported on two ships to Iran, which the Financial Times first reported in January.
The fuel would be used to replenish Iran missile reserves, which have been exhausted due to their direct attacks against Israel in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“According to reports, the fire was the result of an incorrect handling of a solid fuel cargo that would be used in Iran’s ballistic missiles,” said Ambrey.
Ship tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press place one of the ships that allegedly transported the chemist in the vicinity in March, as Ambrey indicated. Iran has not recognized the reception of the cargo. Until Saturday, the Iranian mission at the UN had not responded to a request for comments.
It is not known why Iran did not move the chemicals away from the port, particularly after the explosion in a port of Beirut in 2020. In the incident, caused by the ignition of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, highly explosive, 200 people died and more than 6,000 were injured. However, Israel attacked Iranian missile sites where Tehran uses industrial mixers to create solid fuel.
Videos published on social networks showed a huge column of reddish smoke shortly before the explosion. This indicates the presence of a chemical compound in the incident.
“Remove yourself! Tell the (truck of) gas to retire!”, A man shouted in a video shortly before the explosion. “Tell them to leave, you will explode! Oh God, this will explode! Everyone evacuates! Remove! Remove!”
On Saturday night, the Irna state news agency reported that the Iranian customs administration attributed the explosion to “a reserve of dangerous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area”, without giving more details.
Load destination in Iran
Shahid Rajaei has been attacked before. In 2020 it was the subject of an alleged Israeli cyberbrain. This occurred after Israel claimed to have frustrated a cyber attack against its water supply structure, which it attributed to Iran.
Videos published on social networks showed a huge column of black smoke after the explosion.
Others taught broken glass in buildings kilometers away from the epicenter of the incident and showed the injured by attending at least one hospital, while the ambulances arrived and the doctors introduced a person on a stretcher.
Hasanzadeh, the provincial official of Disaster Management, told state television hours that the explosion occurred in containers in the port of Shahid Rajaei in the city, but did not offer more details. State television also reported that a building collapsed because of deflagration, although there were no more details.
The Interior Ministry also reported that it has initiated an investigation into the incident. Iranian president, Masoud fishshkian, also offered his condolences to affected people.
The port of Shahid Rajaei is about 1,050 kilometers (650 miles) to the southeast of Tehran, the Iranian capital, in the Ormuz Strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf where 20% of all the oil that is marketed in the world passes.
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