Iran Port Explosion Caused by ‘Negligence’, Says Interior Minister

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
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Iran Port Explosion Caused by ‘Negligence’, Says Interior Minister

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said Monday that a deadly explosion at the country's largest commercial port two days ago was caused by "negligence" and failure to comply with safety measures.  

"Some culprits have been identified and summoned ... There were shortcomings, including incompliance with safety precautions and negligence in terms of passive defense," Momeni told state TV, adding that the materials should have been dispersed.

Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press on Monday showed the devastation of the explosion that rocked the Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas as the death toll rose to 70 people with over 1,000 injured.

The photos from Planet Labs PBC came as local news reports from the site raised more questions about the cause of the blast. 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 measuring 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.

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.



Israel Tells Worried Members of Iran’s Security Services to Contact Mossad

 Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Tells Worried Members of Iran’s Security Services to Contact Mossad

 Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)

The Israeli military is urging members of the Iranian security services to contact Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, claiming they had been receiving messages from officials worried about Iran’s “uncertain future.”

There was no immediate way to independently verify the claim.

In a post on the social platform X in Farsi, the Israeli military provided a website and urged users to employ a virtual private network before attempting contact.

“Even those who identify themselves as members of the regime’s security institutions express their fear, despair, and anger at what is happening in Iran and ask us to contact Israeli authorities - so that Iran does not suffer the same fate as Lebanon and Gaza,” the message added.

The message did not elaborate. However, it comes as Iran is in a frenzy over spies, prompting warnings to officials to abandon certain devices, apps and web services.

The internet was down in Iran late Wednesday afternoon. Authorities offered no immediate explanation.