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Hundreds of people were injured following a massive explosion and fire at the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, more than 1,000 kilometers to the south of the capital, Tehran.
Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration official Esmaeil Malekizadeh said that the explosion took place near the Shahid Rajaei port dock, a major facility for container shipments for the Islamic Republic. The facility also includes oil tanks and other petrochemical facilities.
According to the latest update by the Iranian state TV, the explosion and fire left more than 500 people wounded. Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, a provincial disaster management official, told the television earlier that first responders were trying to reach the area while others were attempting to evacuate the site.
In 2020, Israel was accused of launching a major cyberattack on the same port, causing transport chaos for days after crashing the facility’s computer system.
Videos posted to social networks showed a huge plume of red gas and a large ball of fire rising from the area of the explosion.
The gas in question may be sulfur, a material that is known to be used in its powdered form for making solid propellant fuel for rockets.
The blast 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.
In January, Newsweek reported that Western intelligence sources had said they believed Iran is attempting to import 1,000 metric tons of sodium perchlorate from China. The material, if converted into ammonium perchlorate, could support the production of hundreds of solid-propelled rockets.
Two ships identified in the report as the Golbon and the Jairan arrived at Bandar Abbas port in February and March, respectively.
There is a possibility that the explosion at Bandar Abbas was the result of sabotage by Israeli intelligence, with the target being materials meant for Iran’s missile program. This would be a response to the Islamic Republic refusal to discuss its missile capabilities in the ongoing talks with the U.S., or even an attempt to sabotage the talks.
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