A massive explosion at Iran’s largest commercial port killed several people and destroyed shiploads of ballistic missile fuel from China, news reports suggest. “A huge blast probably caused by the explosion of chemical materials killed at least 18 people and injured more than 700 on Saturday at Iran’s biggest port, Bandar Abbas,” Reuters reported, citing Iranian regime-run media.
The exploding rocket fuel sent out a huge plume, unleashing a shock wave spanning several miles. “Iran’s official news channels aired footage of a vast black and orange cloud of smoke billowing up above the port in the aftermath of the blast,” the news agency added. “The blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometres and was heard in Qeshm, an island 26 kilometres (16 miles) south of the port, Iranian media said.”
The blast may be connected to a large missile fuel shipment originating from China. The British newspaper Financial Times had noted earlier this year that “[t]wo Iranian cargo vessels carrying a crucial chemical ingredient for missile propellant” were sailing “from China to Iran.”
The port is attached to a naval base belonging to Iran’s Islamic Guard (IRGC), the regime’s international terrorist arm. “Bandar Abbas also houses a major Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base, from which IRGC forces have launched past seizures of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz,” the Israeli media outlet Ynet News noted.
The Associated Press reported the details:
A massive explosion and fire rocked a port Saturday in southern Iran purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant, killing 14 people and injuring around 750 others.
Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the raging fire through the night into Sunday morning at the Shahid Rajaei port. The explosion occurred just as Iran and the United States met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. (…)
State media offered the casualty figures. But there were few details on what sparked the blaze just outside of Bandar Abbas, causing other containers to reportedly explode.
Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press put one of the vessels believed to be carrying the chemical in the vicinity in March, as Ambrey said. Iran hasn’t acknowledged taking the shipment. (…)
Iran and its terrorist proxies have a history of hoarding explosives and weaponry at commercial ports and airports, putting civilian lives at risk. In August 2020, over 200 people were killed and thousands injured when Hezbollah’s stash of highly-explosive ammonium nitrate exploded at the Beirut port. Civilian airports in Syria and Lebanon have been used by Iran to store explosives and armament meant for terrorist groups.
The Mullah regime is clueless about the nature of the blast and initially blamed the incident on ‘negligence’ in handling a ‘chemical’ shipment. “The Iranian government has not yet specified the exact cause of the explosion, though it suspected combustible chemicals to be behind the blast,” the UK-based Guardian reported.
While the Iranian regime downplays any outside involvement, the Israeli government did not offer any comments on the incident.”There was no response from the Israeli military or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office when asked for comment on whether Israel was in any way involved in the explosion,” The Times of Israel reported. “An Israeli official quoted by Channel 12 news denied any Israeli involvement in the explosion.
Iran ran out of missile fuel after carrying out two waves of aerial strikes on Israel in April and October 2024. The strikes turned out to be expensive fireworks for the regime, with Israel, backed by the U.S. and allies, intercepting almost all drones and missiles before they could even reach Israeli airspace. “The fuel 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 UK’s Daily Mail reported.
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