Death toll from Iran port explosion rises to 70

The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 28, 2025 2:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 40 minutes ago

Iran yet extinguished a occurrence Monday astatine a confederate larboard rocked by an detonation arsenic the decease toll successful the blast roseate to astatine slightest 70 radical killed, authorities said.

Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press besides showed the devastation of the detonation that injured much than 1,000 people.

The photos from Planet Labs PBC came arsenic section quality reports from the tract raised much questions astir the origin of the blast Saturday astatine the Shahid Rajaei larboard adjacent Bandar Abbas.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni announced the occurrence had been enactment out, portion provincial exigency wellness authoritative Mehrdad Hasanzadeh gave the decease toll.

The larboard reportedly took successful a chemic constituent needed for coagulated substance for ballistic missiles — thing denied by authorities though they've not explained the root of the powerfulness that caused specified destruction.

The blast Saturday disintegrated a gathering adjacent the blast site, which appeared to beryllium successful a enactment wherever different containers erstwhile stood, the outer photos showed. It besides shredded the bulk of different gathering conscionable to the west.

The unit of the blast besides could beryllium seen, with what appeared to beryllium 2 craters measuring some 50 metres across. Other containers adjacent appeared smashed and distended by the detonation and the aggravated occurrence that followed.

The occurrence inactive burned astatine the tract Monday, immoderate 2 days aft the archetypal detonation that happened conscionable arsenic Iran began a 3rd circular of negotiations with the United States implicit its rapidly advancing atomic program.

Authorities not offering explanation

Authorities inactive person not offered an mentation for the explosion.

Private information steadfast Ambrey says the larboard received rocket substance chemic successful March. It was portion of a shipment of ammonium perchlorate from China by 2 vessels to Iran, archetypal reported successful January by the Financial Times.

The chemic utilized to marque coagulated propellant for rockets was going to beryllium utilized to replenish Iran's rocket stocks, which had been depleted by its nonstop attacks connected Israel during the warfare with Hamas successful the Gaza Strip.

The Iranian subject denied receiving the chemic shipment.

Social media footage of the detonation saw reddish-hued fume rising from the occurrence conscionable earlier the detonation. That suggests a chemic compound being progressive successful the blast, similar successful the 2020 Beirut larboard explosion.

Late Sunday, Iran's semiofficial ILNA quality bureau quoted Saeed Jafari, the CEO of a marine services institution moving astatine the port, arsenic saying determination were mendacious statements astir the cargo that detonated, which helium called "very dangerous."

"The incidental happened pursuing a mendacious connection astir the unsafe goods and delivering it without documents and tags," Jafari said.

Another study by the semiofficial ISNA quality bureau besides claimed the cargo that caused the blast was not reported to customs authorities.

Only high-level authorities successful Iran, specified arsenic its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, could circumvent mean procedures astatine the port.