Iranian president injured in a visit, calling for investigation into port explosions, killing dozens of people
The Iranian president visited those injured on Sunday, and an outbreak of one of the major ports in the Islamic Republic, the facility is allegedly linked to earlier delivery of chemical components to make missile propellants.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit was amid a visit caused by the death of Saturday’s explosion, rising to 40 at the port of Shahid Rajaei outside Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province in southern Iran, with about 1,000 injured.
While Iranian troops try to deny delivery of ammonium perchlorate from China, new videos emerge, showing the doomsday of the still-forged ports.
A crater appears to be deep, surrounded by smoke, prompting authorities to close schools and businesses in the area. The container was smashed or thrown away, while the bodies of trucks and cars were surrounded by the scene.
“We have to find out why it happened,” Pezshkian said in a meeting with officials broadcasting on Iran State TV.
Authorities described the fire as being under control, saying first responders hope to put out completely later Sunday. Overnight, helicopters and heavy cargo planes flew over the burning port and dumped sea water on the scene. Satellite pictures taken by Planet Labs PBC on Sunday and analyzed by the Associated Press showed that there was still a large amount of black smoke at the scene.
Governor Mohammad Ashouri gave the latest death toll, according to Iran State Television. Pir Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, said only about 1,000 injured people were still hospitalized, according to a statement from the Iranian government website. The governor announced three days of mourning.
Private security company Ambrey said the port received missile fuel chemicals in March. This is the first report by the Financial Times in January that it is part of ammonium perchlorate shipped from China to China. The chemical is used to make solid propellants for rockets and will be used to supplement Iran’s missile stockpile due to its direct attack on Israel during the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
As Ambrey said, the ship tracking data analyzed by the AP will be a ship believed to be carrying a nearby ship in March.
“The fire was reportedly due to the result of improper handling of solid fuels designed to be used for Iran’s ballistic missiles,” Ambery said.
In its first reaction on Sunday, General Reza Talaeinik, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Defense, denied importing missile fuel through ports.
“There is no (OR) imported goods at the port or export goods for military applications,” he told state television via phone. He called for unfounded foreign reports about missile fuel, but did not provide any explanation for detonation of materials detonated with such incredible power at the site. Talaeinik promised authorities will provide more information later.
It is unclear why Iran will not move chemicals from ports, especially after the 2020 Beirut port explosion. The explosion was caused by hundreds of tons of highly explosive nitrate ignition, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 6,000 people.
However, Israel did target Tehran using industrial mixers to create solid fuel Iranian missile sites, meaning it may not have a place to deal with the chemical.
Red smoke rose from the fire before the outbreak on Saturday in social media footage of Shahid Rajaei’s explosion. This suggests that compounds were involved in the explosion, just like in the Beirut explosion.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed several emergency planes to Bandar Abbas on Sunday to provide assistance.
