Iran says fire extinguished at a port rocked by explosion as the death
toll rises to at least 70
[April 29, 2025]
By JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran finally extinguished a fire
Monday at a southern port rocked by an explosion as the death toll in
the blast rose to at least 70 people killed, authorities said.
Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press also showed the
devastation of the explosion that injured more than 1,000 people. The
photos from Planet Labs PBC came as local news reports from the site
raised more questions about the cause of the blast Saturday at the
Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni announced the fire had been
put out, while provincial emergency health official Mehrdad Hasanzadeh
gave the death toll.
The port reportedly took in a chemical component needed for solid fuel
for ballistic missiles — something denied by authorities though they've
not explained the source of the power that caused such destruction.
The blast Saturday disintegrated a building next to the blast site,
which appeared to be in a row where other containers once stood, the
satellite photos showed. It also shredded the majority of another
building just to the west.
The force of the blast also could be seen, with what appeared to be two
craters measure some 50 meters (165 feet) across. Other containers
nearby appeared smashed and distended by the explosion and the intense
fire that followed.
The fire still burned at the site Monday, some two days after the
initial explosion that happened just as Iran began a third round of
negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear
program.
Authorities still haven't offered an explanation for the explosion.
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This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the epicenter of an
explosion at the Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday,
April 28, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Private security firm Ambrey says the port received missile fuel
chemical in March. It was part of a shipment of ammonium perchlorate
from China by two vessels to Iran, first reported in January by the
Financial Times. The chemical used to make solid propellant for
rockets was going to be used to replenish Iran’s missile stocks,
which had been depleted by its direct attacks on Israel during the
war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Iranian military denied receiving the chemical shipment.
Social media footage of the explosion saw reddish-hued smoke rising
from the fire just before the detonation. That suggests a chemical
compound being involved in the blast, like in the 2020 Beirut port
explosion.
Late Sunday, Iran's semiofficial ILNA news agency quoted Saeed
Jafari, the CEO of marine services company working at the port, as
saying there were false statements about the cargo that detonated,
which he called “very dangerous.”
“The incident happened following a false statement about the
dangerous goods and delivering it without documents and tags,”
Jafari said.
Another report by the semiofficial ISNA news agency claimed the
cargo that caused the blast was not reported to customs authorities
as well.
Only high-level authorities in Iran, such as its paramilitary
Revolutionary Guard, could circumvent normal procedures at the port.
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