Fires rage 2 days after Iran port blast killed 40
The blast took place on Saturday at Shahid Rajaee Port in Iran's south near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.
It killed at least 40 people and injured more than 1,000 others, officials said, after triggering smaller explosions and fires in nearby containers.
Iran's state TV showed images of firefighters dousing the flames, and said the damage will be assessed after the fire is fully brought under control.
Thick, swirling plumes of smoke rose over the stacked containers at the site, the TV images showed.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion but the port's customs office said it likely resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a probe into the incident to determine if there were "any negligence or intent".
Smoke, then a fireball
CCTV images on social media showed the incident began gradually, with a small fire and orange-brown smoke before a fireball erupted.
The images appeared to show the small fire starting among a few containers stacked outside across from a warehouse. A small forklift truck drove past the smoking area and men walked nearby.
About one minute and eight seconds after the small fire and smoke were visible, a fireball erupted as vehicles passed nearby. Men ran for their lives.
President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday visited hospitals treating the wounded in the nearby city of Bandar Abbas.
Since the explosion, authorities have ordered all schools and offices in the area closed and urged residents to avoid going outside "until further notice" and to use protective masks.
The New York Times quoted a person with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, as saying that what exploded was sodium perchlorate -- a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.
Defence ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik later told state TV that "there has been no imported or exported cargo for military fuel or military use in the area".
Russia dispatched specialists to help battle the blazes.
Authorities have declared Monday a national day of mourning, while three days of mourning began Sunday in Hormozgan province, where the port is located.
The blast occurred as Iranian and US delegations met in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, with both sides reporting progress.
While Iranian authorities so far appear to be treating the blast as an accident, it also comes against the backdrop of years of shadow war with regional foe Israel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Trump orders US personnel out of 'dangerous' Middle East as Iran tensions escalate
President Donald Trump said US personnel were being moved from the potentially "dangerous" Middle East on Wednesday as nuclear talks with Iran faltered and fears grew of a regional conflict. Trump also reiterated that he would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, amid mounting speculation that Israel could strike Tehran's facilities. Iran threatened Wednesday to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out. A US official had earlier said that staff levels at the embassy in Iraq were being reduced over security concerns, while there were reports that personnel were also being moved from Kuwait and Bahrain. "Well they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place," Trump told reporters in Washington when asked about the reports of personnel being moved. "We've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens." Trump then added: "They can't have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We're not going to allow that." Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. The two sides were due to meet again in coming days. Trump had until recently expressed optimism about the talks, but said in an interview published Wednesday that he was "less confident" about reaching a nuclear deal. Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails. The US president says he has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off striking Iran's nuclear facilities to give the talks a chance, but has increasingly signaled that he is losing patience. Iran however warned it would respond to any attack. "All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries," Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to US threats of military action if the talks fail. 'Suffer more losses' "God willing, things won't reach that point, and the talks will succeed," the minister said, adding that the US side "will suffer more losses" if it came to conflict. The United States has multiple bases in the Middle East, with the largest located in Qatar. In January 2020, Iran fired missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops in retaliation for the US strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani days before at the Baghdad airport. Dozens of US soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries. Amid the escalating tensions, the UK Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British navy, also advised ships to transit the Gulf with caution. Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington calling it a "red line." Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Last week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said enrichment is "key" to Iran's nuclear program and that Washington "cannot have a say" on the issue. During an interview with the New York Post's podcast "Pod Force One," which was recorded on Monday, Trump said he was losing hope a deal could be reached. "I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more -- less confident about it. They seem to be delaying and I think that's a shame. I am less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago," he said. Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer relief from sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Trump says US personnel moved as Iran tensions mount
Trump also reiterated that he would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, amid mounting speculation that Israel could strike Tehran's facilities. Iran threatened Wednesday to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out. A US official had earlier said that staff levels at the embassy in Iraq were being reduced over security concerns, while there were reports that personnel were also being moved from Kuwait and Bahrain. "Well they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place," Trump told reporters in Washington when asked about the reports of personnel being moved. "We've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens." Trump then added: "They can't have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We're not going to allow that." Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. The two sides were due to meet again in coming days. Trump had until recently expressed optimism about the talks, but said in an interview published Wednesday that he was "less confident" about reaching a nuclear deal. Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails. The US president says he has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off striking Iran's nuclear facilities to give the talks a chance, but has increasingly signaled that he is losing patience. Iran however warned it would respond to any attack. "All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries," Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to US threats of military action if the talks fail. 'Suffer more losses' "God willing, things won't reach that point, and the talks will succeed," the minister said, adding that the US side "will suffer more losses" if it came to conflict. The United States has multiple bases in the Middle East, with the largest located in Qatar. In January 2020, Iran fired missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops in retaliation for the US strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani days before at the Baghdad airport. Dozens of US soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries. Amid the escalating tensions, the UK Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British navy, also advised ships to transit the Gulf with caution. Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington calling it a "red line." Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Last week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said enrichment is "key" to Iran's nuclear program and that Washington "cannot have a say" on the issue. During an interview with the New York Post's podcast "Pod Force One," which was recorded on Monday, Trump said he was losing hope a deal could be reached. "I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more -- less confident about it. They seem to be delaying and I think that's a shame. I am less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago," he said. Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer relief from sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years. burs-dk/jgc © 2025 AFP
France 24
17 hours ago
- France 24
Iran hangs man over 2022 protest deaths, activists say conviction wrongful
Abbas Kurkuri, also known as Mojahed Kurkur, was hanged at dawn in Sheiban prison in the western city of Ahvaz, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights and Hengaw groups said. His execution was reported by the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website which said he had been convicted by a Revolutionary Court of the capital offences of "corruption on earth" and "waging war against God". He had been arrested more than two years previously over the deaths in November 2022 at the height of the nationwide protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurd detained for an alleged breach of Iran's strict dress code for women. He was accused of opening fire with a military weapon in the town of Izeh northeast of Ahvaz in an attack that left seven people dead, including 10-year-old Kian Pirfalak, whose death sparked outrage at the time. At his trial, Kurkuri confessed to the charges and said he had been "under the influence of social media", Mizan said. But human rights groups said his confession, which was broadcast by Iranian state media and re-published by Mizan on Wednesday, had been obtained under duress and accused the authorities of framing him to take the blame away from the security forces. 'Tsunami' of executions "During his detention, Korkor endured severe torture and was denied access to legal counsel," said Hengaw, adding that Pirfalak's mother had said at her son's funeral that it was security personnel who fired at their vehicle. It noted that the execution had taken place on what would have been the boy's birthday. IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam described the execution as "an extrajudicial killing". "The Islamic republic authorities attempted to blame him for the murder of 10-year old Kian Pirfalak by forcing confessions under torture," he said. He said the hanging of Kurkuri, a member of Iran's Bahktiari minority, was the latest in a "tsunami" of executions in Iran, with convicts currently being put to death at a rate of four a day. According to IHR, at least 569 people have been hanged in Iran so far this year. Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, currently on leave from her own prison sentence, said Kurkuri had been "brutally tortured in solitary confinement (and) falsely accused of Kian's murder based on fabricated claims by interrogators and the regime's judiciary". Amnesty International said he was convicted after a "grossly unfair sham trial marred by torture-tainted 'confessions' obtained while he was subjected to enforced disappearance". The London-based group said its investigations had showed "plainclothes security officials used unlawful lethal force during protests in Izeh and fatally fired live ammunition at the child". "Authorities immediately blamed 'terrorists', but the boy's family repeatedly refuted these claims publicly and attributed the responsibility to the authorities." Over 550 people were killed in the authorities' crackdown on the protests, according to the IHR's figures. The authorities emphasise that members of the security forces also lost their lives. Kurkuri's execution comes a day after Iran hanged nine men convicted of plotting to carry out attacks in 2018 on behalf of the Islamic State group. Iran is the world's second most prolific executioner after China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.
