A large explosion at a port in southern Iran on Saturday killed at least five people and injured more than 700, in keeping with state media.
The precise reason for the blast on the Shahid Rajaee port within the metropolis of Bandar Abbas was not instantly clear, however the Iranian authorities didn’t recommend it was sabotage or a deliberate assault.
The state-run Islamic Republic Information Company quoted an official as saying the explosion was possible set off by containers of chemical substances that caught fireplace. It despatched up immense clouds of black smoke, in keeping with footage from the scene distributed by an Iranian broadcaster and video from social media that was verified by The New York Occasions.
Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president, stated the nation’s inside minister was heading to the area to supervise an investigation into the explosion. He expressed “deep sorrow and sympathy” for the explosion’s lethal toll.
Bandar Abbas is strategically situated alongside the Strait of Hormuz, the place the Persian Gulf meets the Gulf of Oman — a busy delivery lane for the world’s oil and pure fuel.
In 2020, Israel launched a cyberattack that hampered operations on the Shahid Rajaee port as a part of its long-running shadow war with Iran. Israeli officers didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Saturday’s explosion.
However in an obvious try and rebuff rumors of Israeli involvement, the workplace of the Iranian lawyer basic issued a statement denouncing “on-line activists” who unfold rumors that undermined the “psychological safety of society.”
The explosion got here across the time that American and Iranian officers started assembly in Oman on Saturday for a 3rd spherical of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Final week, The New York Occasions reported that Israel had deliberate to assault Iranian nuclear websites as quickly as subsequent month, however it was waved off by Mr. Trump, who needed to barter an settlement with Tehran as a substitute. However Mr. Trump has additionally vowed to forestall Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, together with by navy motion if crucial.
