Click to see full-size image. Screengrab via Telegram.
A massive fire that broke out in the Shahid Rajaei port in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on April 26 detonated tons of sodium perchlorate, a chemical used in the manufacturing of solid propellants for missiles, The New York Times reporting, citing an individual with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Shahid Rajaee is a large facility for container shipments, covering 2,400 hectares. It handles 70 million tons of cargo every year, including oil and general shipping. It has nearly 500,000 square meters of warehouses and 35 shipping berths.
The port received a batch of the chemical in March, according to the private security firm Ambrey. The batch was part of a large shipment from China that was transported to Iran in two vessels, first reported in January by the Financial Times and Newsweek.
The fire was still ongoing in the port as of April 27 afternoon, with reports of several new explosions there by Iranian state media.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent, the incident claimed the lives of 28 people. More than 800 others were reported wounded.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation into the causes of the incident. He wrote on the X social network that the interior minister had been sent to the region to “examine the dimensions of the accident.”
“After receiving initial reports and analyzing the possible causes of the incident,” Pezeshkian emphasized the need to conduct “a comprehensive assessment of the causes of the incident,” as soon as possible to prevent “the recurrence of such incidents in the future.”
Fatemeh Mohajerani, a government spokeswoman, said that it would take some time to establish the cause, “but so far what has been determined is that containers were stored in a corner of the port that likely contains chemicals which exploded.”
“But until the fire is extinguished, it’s hard to ascertain the cause,” she added.
Meanwhile, Iran’s National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said that the explosion at the port was not related to the refineries, fuel tanks, or oil pipelines “associated with the company in that area.”
The country’s Defense Ministry, from its side, denied the presence of any military-use cargo at the port, in an indirect response to the claims made by The New York Times.
It’s worth noting that the incident came amid indirect nuclear talks between the United States and Iran. Addressing the talks on April 26, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the issue of the country’s missile capabilities has not and will not be raised with the U.S.
The circumstances surrounding the incident led to speculation of Israeli sabotage. Yet, an Israeli official was quoted by Hebrew media as saying Israel had no part in the explosion at the port.
It’s worth noting that Israel was accused in 2020 of launching a major cyberattack on the same port, causing transport chaos for days after crashing the facility’s computer system.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
the chickens will return home to roost. probably one of jolani’s chickens got a job at the iranian oil depot at the port.
mossad at work! time to clean house in palestine and send the jews packing!
the allies are slapping around the arabs in iran again…heheheh