Italian Expert Believes Arms Depot was at Site of Beirut Blast

An aerial view shows the massive damage at Beirut port’s grain silos and the area around it on Wednesday, one day after a massive explosion hit the area in the heart of the Lebanese capital. Photo: AFP
An aerial view shows the massive damage at Beirut port’s grain silos and the area around it on Wednesday, one day after a massive explosion hit the area in the heart of the Lebanese capital. Photo: AFP
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Italian Expert Believes Arms Depot was at Site of Beirut Blast

An aerial view shows the massive damage at Beirut port’s grain silos and the area around it on Wednesday, one day after a massive explosion hit the area in the heart of the Lebanese capital. Photo: AFP
An aerial view shows the massive damage at Beirut port’s grain silos and the area around it on Wednesday, one day after a massive explosion hit the area in the heart of the Lebanese capital. Photo: AFP

Danilo Coppe, one of Italy’s best known explosives experts, said Friday that he did not believe the Beirut Port explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate, but rather an arms warehouse at or near the site.

“I do not believe there was that amount of ammonium nitrate at the Port of Beirut, nor that there was a fireworks depot,” he told the Italian daily Corriere.

The expert, nicknamed Mr. Dynamite, explained that when ammonium nitrate detonates, it generates an unmistakable yellow cloud.

“Instead, from the videos of the explosion, in addition to the white sphere that can be seen expanding – which is condensation of the sea air – you can clearly see a brick orange column tending to bright red, typical of lithium’s presence.”

He said the explosion was that of a weapons warehouse.

“Lithium-metal is a propellant for military missiles, so I think there were armaments there,” Coppe confirmed.

He explained it was not 2,700 tons that exploded, because if it had been 2,700 tons that would mean 100 containers of ammonium nitrate.

“And 100 containers do not explode simultaneously like that. Anything is possible in this life, but I don't think it was ammonium nitrate that exploded,” the expert noted.

Tuesday's massive explosion killed 154 people, injured 5,000 and smashed a swathe of the city.

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi told a local TV station that it appeared the blast was caused by the detonation of more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in a warehouse at the dock ever since it was confiscated from a cargo ship in 2014.

Witnesses reported seeing an orange cloud like that which appears when toxic nitrogen dioxide gas is released after an explosion involving nitrates.



Egyptian FM Pushes for ‘De-escalation’ Dialogue in Call with European Diplomats

Emergency personnel walk near damaged vehicles at an impact site following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
Emergency personnel walk near damaged vehicles at an impact site following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
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Egyptian FM Pushes for ‘De-escalation’ Dialogue in Call with European Diplomats

Emergency personnel walk near damaged vehicles at an impact site following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
Emergency personnel walk near damaged vehicles at an impact site following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and British National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell on Thursday about the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.

In a statement after the call, Abdelatty said that the E3, an informal foreign and security cooperation arrangement between the UK, Germany and France, is responsible for opening “channels for dialogue and negotiation and utilize all available channels with the Iranian side to reach compromises that contribute to de-escalation.”

Abdelatty also held calls Tuesday with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister reportedly stressed “the necessity of working toward de-escalation in the region and resorting to diplomatic and political solutions that contribute to containing the escalating situation and averting the risk of a widespread conflagration in the Middle East.”

Abdelatty “underscored the imperative of achieving an immediate ceasefire and returning to the path of negotiations as the only means to reach a sustainable agreement regarding the Iranian nuclear program,” his office said in a statement.