( RFE/RL) – A massive explosion purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant killed at least 14 people and injured more than 750 others in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
The April 26 blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the United States met in Oman for the third round of talks over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. A fourth round is scheduled for May 3, also in Oman.
While no Iranian officials have suggested that the explosion was due to an attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading Tehran’s delegation in Oman, said earlier this week that “our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response.”
Explosion at Bandar Abbas 4/26/2025. Via Tasnim News. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authorities in Iran offered no clear explanation for what caused the blast. Some 10 hours after the initial explosion, state TV reported the fire was still intensifying and in danger of “spreading to other areas and containers.”
Hossein Zafari, a spokesman for Iran’s crisis management organization, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at the Shahid Rajaee port.
“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” he told Iran’s ILNA news agency.
“Previously, the director general of crisis management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger,” Zafari said.
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According to the private security firm Ambrey, the port had received a shipment of “sodium perchlorate rocket fuel” in March, which was going to be used to replenish Iran’s missile stocks after being depleted by its direct attacks on Israel during the war with Hamas — which is designated as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union — in the Gaza Strip.
Explosion at Bandar Abbas 4/26/2025. Via Tasnim News. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Tehran has not acknowledged taking the shipment, but ship-tracking data obtained by the Associated Press shows vessels believed to be carrying the chemical in the vicinity of the port in March.
US-Iran Nuclear Talks In Oman
Meanwhile, Iran and the United States held negotiations in Oman over Tehran’s nuclear program on April 26.
The talks ran for several hours in Muscat, the Omani mediators said of the indirect sessions between Araghchi and Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East.
“The negotiations were conducted very seriously and professionally,” Araghchi without providing full details. “We are cautiously optimistic.”
Via RFE/RL
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