Iran Silent on Cause of Lethal Port Explosion as Death Toll Climbs

Iranian officials have not disclosed the reason for the large explosion that occurred. port of Bandar Abbas On Saturday, at least 28 individuals were killed, with unsubstantiated claims suggesting the potential use of a substance utilized in manufacturing rocket fuel.

Witness statements and videos suggest that flammable materials in a section containing shipping containers ignited, triggering an explosion. much larger explosion The number of fatalities rose dramatically after the event, with an additional 800 people sustaining injuries as well.

A surveillance clip shared by the Fars news agency reveals a minor blaze starting near some containers, followed by several employees distancing themselves from the area. The footage then concludes with a massive detonation cutting off the video stream.

Previously, The News Pulse has covered reports indicating that multiple shipments totaling several hundred tons of a crucial component for Iran’s ballistic missile program reached the port in February. It is now being reported that another delivery was made in March.

The state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency cited an official who stated that the explosion probably resulted from containers holding chemicals; however, they didn’t specify which ones. According to reports released late Saturday, the Iranian Customs Administration attributed the incident at the port area to "a stockpile of dangerous substances and chemical materials."

The country's national oil company stated that the blast at the harbor was "unconnected to refineries, fuel storage facilities, or petroleum pipelines" in the vicinity.

Iranian authorities have refuted claims that any military equipment was stored at the harbor. Ebrahim Rezaei, who serves as the spokesperson for the nation’s security and foreign policy committee within Iran’s parliament, stated this in an official statement. post on X On Sunday, preliminary reports indicated that the explosion was "unrelated to Iran's defense industry."

The Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reached Bandar Abbas on Sunday afternoon to assess the circumstances and supervise aid operations, as reported by state media. He also visited individuals who were wounded in Saturday’s explosion.

The explosion occurs amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and during negotiations between Iran and the United States regarding Tehran’s nuclear program; however, no prominent Iranian officials have indicated that the incident was an act of aggression.

Clips and photos from the location, with several ones pinpointed by The News Pulse, depict hazy plumes of orange-brown smoke billowing upwards from an area within the harbor known for storing shipping containers. This hue could imply that chemicals like sodium or ammonia might be present at the site.

The fires at the port continued to blaze on Sunday, but according to Iranian state media, they had been brought under control by 80%.

The New York Times reported Sunday that a person “with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that what exploded was sodium perchlorate, a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters.”

The News Pulsecannot confirm what was being stored in the area at the time of the explosion and it is unclear why such chemicals would be kept at port for so long.

Other specialists proposed that ordinary chemicals could be responsible for the massive explosion.

This shows all the signs of an ammonium nitrate blast," stated Andrea Sella, a chemistry professor at University College London. "Ammonium nitrate is a common chemical utilized extensively as a fertilizer and also as an industrial explosive; however, it’s widely recognized that inadequate storage greatly increases the likelihood of such an explosion occurring during a fire.

Less than a minute after ignition, the material combusts intensely, swiftly followed by an explosive blast several seconds later. This immense explosion generates a supersonic shockwave powerful enough to shatter glass.

In February The News Pulsereported The initial vessel out of two transporting 1,000 tons of a Chinese-produced chemical—a potential critical ingredient for fuel used in Iran’s military missile operations—has docked just offshore from Bandar Abbas.

The vessel named Golbon departed from the Chinese port of Taicang in January carrying over 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, which is primarily used as a key component in the solid fuel that propels Iran’s intermediate-range conventional missiles. This information was provided by two European intelligence officials to The News Pulse.

According to intelligence sources, sodium perchlorate could facilitate the production of enough propellant for approximately 260 solid rocket motors for Iran’s Kheibar Shekan missiles or around 200 of the Haj Qasem ballistic missiles.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry informed The News Pulse in February that "China has always adhered to export control measures for dual-use goods as per its international commitments and national laws." They further stated, "Sodium perchlorate does not fall under regulated substances according to China’s standards, hence exporting it would be regarded as standard commercial activity."

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