Iran says fireplace out after port blast that killed 70

[ad_1] DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran lastly extinguished a hearth Monday at a southern port rocked by an explosion because the demise toll within the blast rose to at the least 70 folks killed, authorities mentioned.

Satellite tv for pc photos analyzed by The Related Press additionally confirmed the devastation of the explosion that injured greater than 1,000 folks. The images from Planet Labs PBC got here as native information stories from the positioning raised extra questions on the reason for the blast Saturday on the Shahid Rajaei port close to Bandar Abbas.

Iranian Inside Minister Eskandar Momeni introduced the fireplace had been put out, whereas provincial emergency well being official Mehrdad Hasanzadeh gave the demise toll.

The port reportedly took in a chemical part wanted for stable gasoline for ballistic missiles — one thing denied by authorities although they’ve not defined the supply of the facility that triggered such destruction.

The blast Saturday disintegrated a constructing subsequent to the blast web site, which seemed to be in a row the place different containers as soon as stood, the satellite tv for pc images confirmed. It additionally shredded the vast majority of one other constructing simply to the west.

The drive of the blast additionally may very well be seen, with what seemed to be two craters measure some 50 meters (165 toes) throughout. Different containers close by appeared smashed and distended by the explosion and the extraordinary fireplace that adopted.

The fireplace nonetheless burned on the web site Monday, some two days after the preliminary explosion that occurred simply as Iran began a third round of negotiations with the United States over its quickly advancing nuclear program.

Authorities nonetheless haven’t provided an evidence for the explosion.

This satellite tv for pc picture reveals the epicenter of an explosion on the Shahid Rajaei port close to Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC by way of AP)

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This satellite tv for pc picture reveals the epicenter of an explosion earlier than it occurred on the Shahid Rajaei port close to Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC by way of AP)

Learn Extra Personal safety agency Ambrey says the port acquired missile gasoline chemical in March. It was a part of a cargo of ammonium perchlorate from China by two vessels to Iran, first reported in January by the Monetary Occasions. The chemical used to make stable propellant for rockets was going for use to replenish Iran’s missile shares, which had been depleted by its direct assaults on Israel throughout the war with Hamas within the Gaza Strip.

The Iranian army denied receiving the chemical cargo.

Social media footage of the explosion noticed reddish-hued smoke rising from the fireplace simply earlier than the detonation. That means a chemical compound being concerned within the blast, like in the 2020 Beirut port explosion .

Late Sunday, Iran’s semiofficial ILNA information company quoted Saeed Jafari, the CEO of marine companies firm working on the port, as saying there have been false statements concerning the cargo that detonated, which he known as “very harmful.”

“The incident occurred following a false assertion concerning the harmful items and delivering it with out paperwork and tags,” Jafari mentioned.

One other report by the semiofficial ISNA information company claimed the cargo that triggered the blast was not reported to customs authorities as effectively.

Solely high-level authorities in Iran, equivalent to its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, might circumvent regular procedures on the port.

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