Massive explosion at Iranian port kills 18 and injures hundreds
CNN —
At least 18 people have been killed and 750 injured in a huge explosion at the port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, according to official Iranian media citing the country's interior ministry.
The explosion sent a huge plume of thick, gray smoke from the Shahid Rajaee part of the port complex, according to videos geolocated by CNN, with the government saying the blast was likely linked to chemicals being stored.
Iran's Minister of Interior Eskandar Momeni said six people remain missing as firefighters continue to work to extinguish the blaze, despite challenges posed by high winds, Iranian media reported.
No cause has been given for the explosion. A government spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, said it would take some time to establish the cause, 'but so far what has been determined is that containers were stored in a corner of the port that likely contained chemicals which exploded.'
She added: 'But until the fire is extinguished, it's hard to ascertain the cause.'
Iran's National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said the explosion at the port was not related to the refineries, fuel tanks, or oil pipelines 'associated with the company in that area.' This came after Iranian official media reported that the blast occurred after a fuel tanker at the port 'exploded for unknown reasons.'
The incident prompted Iranian authorities to declare a state of emergency in the city of Bandar Abbas to safeguard citizens amid a 'significant rise in air pollution.'
The Ministry of Health has mobilized health teams and implemented emergency measures to protect public health. Citizens are advised to stay indoors, avoid outdoor activities, and keep windows closed, according to official Iranian media.
A video distributed by the Mehr news agency showed surveillance footage of the moment of the explosion, which appears to have occurred in a warehouse at the port. Other footage showed helicopters dropping water at the site of the fire ignited by the explosion.
Debris was spread over a wide area and many buildings at the port complex were badly damaged, according to state media. Windows within a radius of several kilometers were shattered, they said.
Some reports said people were trapped in the wreckage of a building that was reduced to rubble.
The region's governor, Mohammad Ashouri Taziani, said injured people were being transferred to Bandar Abbas medical centers. The port has been closed and maritime operations suspended, according to state media.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation into the causes of the incident. He wrote on X that the interior minister had been sent to the region to 'examine the dimensions of the accident.'
'After receiving initial reports and analyzing the possible causes of the incident,' Pezeshkian emphasized the need to conduct 'a comprehensive assessment of the causes of the incident,' as soon as possible to prevent 'the recurrence of such incidents in the future.'
State broadcaster IRIB said the explosion took place in the chemical and sulfur area of the port.
A helicopter flies through black smoke engulfing the site of a port blast in Iran, on Saturday, which killed at least five people and injured more than 700 others.
Mohammad Rasole Moradi/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images
The incident has shocked the country and many were seen on Iran's state-run Press TV lining up at a health center to donate blood for the injured.
Shahid Rajaee is a large facility for container shipments, covering 2,400 hectares (around 5,900 acres). It handles 70 million tons of cargo annually, including oil and general shipping. It has nearly 500,000 square meters (5.4 million square feet) of warehouses and 35 shipping berths.
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Egypt Independent
3 days ago
- Egypt Independent
Trump's tariff threat exposes China's tight grip on the global pharmaceuticals industry
Hong Kong/New York CNN — It's the most prescribed antibiotic in the United States, used by tens of millions of people every year to treat bacterial infections including pneumonia, stomach ulcers, and strep throat. Yet, it isn't exactly common knowledge that amoxicillin, a relative of penicillin that has been in chronic short supply, has only one manufacturer in the US, or that China controls 80 percent of the raw materials required for its production. That's a major concern as US President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, throwing a spotlight on America's dependence on critical drug supplies from abroad. 'Increasing trade hostilities or more protracted conflicts could devastate our access to amoxicillin or the ingredients used to make it should Beijing weaponize its supply chain dominance,' Rick Jackson, founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, which owns America's sole amoxicillin manufacturer, told CNN. Last year, 96 percent of US imports of hydrocortisone (the active ingredient in the anti-itch cream), 90 percent of imports of ibuprofen (found in common over-the-counter pain relievers), and 73 percent of imports of acetaminophen (in other kinds of pain relievers) all came from China, according to CNN calculations based on trade data from the Census Bureau. With the US already facing shortages of many essential medications, experts warn that Beijing could potentially exploit this reliance as leverage in an escalating trade war. Tensions between the two sides have soared since Trump unleashed his trade assault on the world's second-largest economy. While the two countries have announced a temporary truce that rolled back the three-digit tariffs for 90 days, relations remain tense with ongoing feuding over chip restrictions imposed by the US. Leland Miller, a commissioner at the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said the 'chokepoints' that China holds over the US pharmaceutical supply are 'detrimental to American security.' 'Simply by having this leverage … whether or not they ever pull the trigger, causes us to change our policy positions on a lot of things, and that's not good,' he said. So far, China has made no official public threat about weaponizing its dominant position in this segment of the pharmaceutical industry. But Trump's tariffs on the sector, if imposed, could worsen existing drug shortages and drive up prices for Americans, undermining his promise to lower health care costs. Generic drugs, which are designed to provide the same therapeutic effects as brand-name ones and are released after their patents expire, account for 90 percent of all prescriptions in the US. India produces many of those generics, often from ingredients imported from China. Even though industry insiders and experts widely acknowledge America's heavy reliance on Chinese pharmaceuticals, there is little comprehensive data on the full extent of this dependence across the sector, as major pharmaceutical firms have little incentive to disclose such information. That's part of the reason why last month, the Trump administration launched a probe into pharmaceuticals imports as part of efforts to impose tariffs on the sector on national security grounds. A 'catastrophic' interruption With China making 80 percent of the world's raw materials for amoxicillin, according to Jackson, it's a clear example of just how vulnerable the world could be to 'Chinese political or economic whims.' 'Any interruption by China along the lengthy amoxicillin supply chain could be catastrophic, particularly in the face of a potential bacterial epidemic,' he said. In 2021, Jackson purchased a bankrupt manufacturing site located in Bristol, Tennessee, and renamed it USAntibiotics. The facility, built in the 1970s, used to produce enough amoxicillin for the whole country at the time. After the amoxicillin patent expired in 2002, the Tennessee facility began to make generic equivalents. At that point, it began facing lower-cost competition from overseas and eventually went bankrupt. Concerns about America's dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals aren't new. As early as 2019, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission recommended that Congress assess America's pharmaceutical vulnerabilities. Two years later, when Jackson bought the amoxicillin factory, he cited national security and the need to ensure a steady supply of antibiotics as a major reason for the purchase. China controls 80 percent of the raw materials required for amoxicillin's production. Fred Tanneau/AFP/Getty Images Still, progress in growing America's pharma supply chain has been slow. In late April, Trump said pharmaceutical companies were 'going to have to' produce drugs in the US or face a 'tariff wall.' A key goal behind Trump's threats of pharmaceutical tariffs is to 'onshore' drug production. An American study in 2021 found that the US imports 72 percent of its essential medicines. But experts said tariffs are unlikely to achieve that goal for generics, which have become commodities, with price being the main differentiator. So-called brand-name drugs, by contrast, are protected by patents and therefore command higher prices and bigger profit margins. Instead, tariffs would not only drive up medical costs for patients, but they could also exacerbate ongoing drug shortages by pushing generic drug makers out of the American market. Even if they are willing to build drug-making facilities in the US, the process could take years. Reliance on China China's dominance in the global drug supply chain is part and parcel of its position as the world's factory. Over decades, the pursuit of lower production costs has prompted drug makers to shift production from Western countries to places like China and India. China plays an outsize role in the drug supply chain for its significant production of the critical chemical compounds, called key starting materials or KSM, which are necessary to produce active ingredients, called active pharmaceuticals ingredients or API. China and India dominate the global manufacturing capacity for API. Together, they account for 82 percent of all API manufacturer filings to the US Food and Drug Administration, according to United States Pharmacopeia (USP), a nonprofit that sets official quality standards for medicines. The filings contain detailed information about the facilities and manufacturing processes submitted by API manufacturers. In the two years after 2021, according to the most recent data, India's share of the filings dropped to 50 percent, while China's surged to 32 percent. Chinese manufacturers have also benefited from Beijing's policy incentives and subsidies for the pharmaceutical sector since the early 2000s, which led to industry clusters springing up in the country, said Qingpeng Zhang, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong's LKS Faculty of Medicine. 'These industry clusters, which help drive down overall costs while maintaining quality … ultimately made China an ideal location for the production of generics and APIs within a free trade environment,' he said. Besides lower costs, the environmental impact of drug production also contributed to China's rise in this sector, as the US and European Union often have stricter environmental regulation, according to Ronald Piervincenzi, CEO of USP. Even India, the world's top supplier of generics, relies on China for APIs and other key ingredients. In fact, 70 percent of India's API imports come from China, according to a 2023 report commissioned by the Indian government. Dinesh Thakur, a public health expert and author of 'The Truth Pill,' a book on Indian drug regulations, said that India's reliance on China for drug materials reflected the 'natural evolution' of the industry. At the time when Indian drug companies moved up the value chain toward higher-margin products like formulations and injectables, China's nascent pharmaceutical sector made inroads with API production at a lower price point, he said. The Indian companies then 'bought the API for a lesser cost from China and focused their money and their capacity in India on building competence for developing more complex finished formulations,' Thakur said. He added that China's well-established chemicals industry, built independently of pharmaceuticals, also gave its manufacturers a head start in producing drug-related chemicals. Major policy push Besides its cost advantage, China's pharmaceutical industry also got a boost from the government. In 2015, Chinese leader Xi Jinping unveiled his signature 'Made in China 2025' industrial strategy, which identified biopharma and advanced medical products as key sectors for development in its broader push to reduce the country's reliance on foreign technology. The Covid-19 pandemic further exposed global dependence on China for pharmaceutical supplies – and served as a reminder to Beijing of the strategic advantage that that dominance provides. In a state-run magazine in 2020, Xi said China must consolidate its leadership in its advantageous industries, and 'tighten global industrial chains' dependence on China to build strong countermeasures and deterrent capabilities against deliberate external supply cutoffs.' In 2015, Chinese leader Xi Jinping unveiled his signature 'Made in China 2025' industrial strategy, which identified biopharma and advanced medical products as key sectors for development in its broader push to reduce the country's reliance on foreign technology. Tingshu Wang/Pool/Getty Images In 2021, during the height of the epidemic, China's National Development and Reform Commission, the state planner, highlighted APIs as a 'key strength in China's pharmaceutical industry's participation in global competition.' Li Daokui, a professor of finance at Tsinghua University in Beijing and a Beijing adviser, even suggested that China, given its strategic position in the production of raw materials for vitamins and antibiotics, could limit drug supplies to the US as 'countermeasures' against American sanctions. 'Not effective' While Trump is not the first US president to push for onshoring drug production, he is the first to attempt it through the threat of sweeping tariffs. Some companies have fallen in line. British firm AstraZeneca, for instance, is shifting production of certain medicines from Europe to the US, following a $3.5 billion investment plan announced late last year. Similarly, companies including Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly have pledged to expand their US operations. But these companies primarily focus on patented drugs. Stephen Farrelly, global head of pharma and healthcare at Dutch bank group ING, noted that the US accounted for 44 percent of global pharmaceutical sales in 2023, making it imperative for makers of patented drugs to maintain a presence in the country. The story is different for generics because their margins are often half those of branded ones. 'Given their margin profiles, they can't afford to make long-term investment decisions with so much uncertainty around,' he said. 'If even possible, it would take in excess of five years to begin reshoring.' Tariffs on pharmaceuticals would eventually fall on patients, experts say, widening health disparities in an already strained health care system. Because generics are as much as 85 percent cheaper than branded drugs, low-income patients and those without health insurance rely on them disproportionately. An April study commissioned by the main American pharmaceutical lobby group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, revealed that a 25 percent tariff will increase costs of imported pharmaceuticals by $50.8 billion annually, causing prices to rise by 12.9 percent if passed to consumers. ING also found that a 25 percent tariff on a common generic cancer medication could raise its price by up to $10,000 for a 24-week prescription. Rather than achieving the intended goal of onshoring production, experts said the tariffs could risk pushing generics manufacturers to abandon the US market altogether. Piervincenzi warned that even modest tariffs could disrupt the supply of generics. 'There's very little profit there and any tariff would just result in [generic drug makers] being underwater and just exiting,' he said. Incentives other than tariffs are necessary to create a resilient drug supply chain, Piervincenzi said. And unlike with other industries, drug supply disruption or shortages could have life-threatening consequences. 'Each of these drugs, people's lives depend on them, and a single drug goes into shortage and a child can't get their cancer therapy, and it becomes a disaster, which you don't see if your favorite brand of ketchup's out of stock,' he said. 'You may be annoyed, but your life is not in danger.'
Egypt Independent
3 days ago
- Egypt Independent
Aid distribution in Gaza has turned deadly. Here's what to know
CNN — A new program for getting desperately needed food into the hands of starving Palestinians in Gaza is only days old, but it's already mired in chaos and tragedy. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed over the past few days while on their way to trying to obtain aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). This group, backed by Israel and the US, is intended to replace the UN-led system of distributing aid in Gaza, to address a hunger crisis sparked by a monthslong Israeli blockade. Over the past week, tens of thousands of Palestinians have converged on distribution points run by GHF, hoping to grab one of the limited number of packages before they run out. For the past three days, Palestinian authorities and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of shooting dozens of civilians dead near one of the aid sites in Rafah. On Monday and Tuesday, Israel's military said it fired 'warning shots' toward what were described as 'suspects' approaching a military position, and the military was looking into reports of casualties. On Sunday, during the first deadly shooting, the military said it did not fire at civilians 'near or within' the distribution site, even as a military source admitted Israeli forces fired towards individuals about a kilometer away from the site. As international condemnation grows, here's what to know about aid and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. What is the situation with food in Gaza? Israel halted all humanitarian aid into Gaza in early March, with government officials saying their goal was to force Hamas to accept new ceasefire terms and release hostages taken during the militant group's terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The ban meant no supplies entered the territory for 11 weeks, pushing Gaza's 2.1 million people deeper into a hunger crisis. A UN-backed report warned in late April that one in five people were facing starvation and that the entire Gaza Strip was edging closer to famine. Faced with growing international pressure, Israel eased its blockade two weeks ago, allowing a small amount of aid to enter Gaza, to be distributed through UN channels as well as through GHF. But the amount of aid trickling in is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of the population, according to Palestinian officials and international aid groups. On the first day of GHF's delivery in southern Gaza last Tuesday, chaos broke out, as thousands of Palestinians rushed to receive food supplies, with Israeli troops firing warning shots into the air and the US contractors overseeing the site briefly withdrawing. Gaza's hunger crisis long predates Israel's total blockade, however. Since Hamas' attack, Israel has severely restricted the amount of aid that can enter the strip. And even before October 2023, Israel and Egypt had imposed a partial blockade on Gaza, meaning that 63 percent of the population was food insecure, according to the UN. What is GHF? GHF is a private, non-profit organization created with the backing of Israel and the US to take over aid delivery in Gaza, following Israeli accusations that Hamas was stealing some of the humanitarian aid that was destined for civilians. GHF relies on private military contractors for security and aims to replace traditional methods of aid delivery in Gaza employed by humanitarian organizations. On Tuesday, the organization doubled down on its mechanism, saying its work continues 'full-steam ahead' as it asserts it has delivered millions of meals in pre-packaged boxes to Palestinians. 'In an operating environment as complex and volatile as Gaza, that kind of safe, direct, and large-scale aid delivery is unprecedented,' GHF said in a statement. The group has faced internal turmoil – its executive director, Jake Wood, quit the day before GHF began operations in Gaza, and in a further blow, the Boston Consulting Group confirmed on Tuesday that it had canceled its contract with GHF. Palestinians carry food packages from the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on June 1. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP The foundation set up four 'Secure Distribution Sites' in southern and central Gaza aiming to feed around 1.2 million of Gaza's estimated 2.1 million population. That pales in comparison to the United Nations system, which relies on some 400 aid distribution points dotted up and down Gaza. The foundation coordinates with the Israeli military to designate specific routes for traveling Palestinians – many of whom must walk a long way through the devastated strip to get food – and issues warnings on Facebook against diverging from the designated roads. But it's unclear how many of those people are aware of these detailed instructions, nor how access to one of the hubs, designated SDS-01, takes them close to positions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Over the past three nights, Palestinians appear to have come too near to these positions, and the IDF said Tuesday it had opened fire towards people who had left the designated route. The United Nations had warned that the Israeli military's involvement in securing the areas around the sites could discourage participation or lead to recipients facing reprisals. How has aid distribution changed and why? Before GHF arrived in Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) were the main distributors of aid in the enclave. Additionally, UNWRA took a leading role in providing education and healthcare services. But Israel has long had a contentious relationship with UNRWA and the UN at large. This relationship ruptured completely in the aftermath of the October 7 attack. Israel's parliament subsequently banned UNRWA from operating in the country, making any UN-led humanitarian efforts extremely difficult. Both Israel and the US had also accused Hamas of stealing aid distributed by the UN. Hamas has rejected those claims, and humanitarian aid organizations say most of the food aid reaches civilians. The UN has refused to participate in the new Gaza aid initiative, saying that GHF model violates some basic humanitarian principles. It warned that locating the initial distribution points only in southern and central Gaza could be perceived as encouraging Israel's publicly stated goal of depopulating northern Gaza. GHF has said it is working to open new sites, including in northern Gaza, but no such distribution points have yet opened. What has been happening recently? There is not enough food for everyone who needs it. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to seek aid from a tiny number of sites – and while a lucky few have been able to secure some relief, for most, the results have been disastrous. Palestinian authorities have said more than 60 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the past three days near a GHF aid site near the southern city of Rafah. Establishing exactly what happened at all these incidents is difficult, as Israel prevents international media from entering Gaza. Emergency crews arrive to evacuate injured people after an Israeli drone reportedly opened fire on civilians near an aid distribution point near the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza, on June 1. Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images On Tuesday, nearly 30 people were killed, and dozens wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Nasser hospital. The Israeli military said its forces opened fire multiple times after identifying 'several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes.' On Monday, three Palestinians were shot dead and dozens wounded as they were on their way to access aid, Palestinian and hospital authorities said. The IDF said that Israeli forces fired warning shots approximately a kilometer (about 1,100 yards) from the aid distribution site. On Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry, hospital officials and a half-dozen eyewitnesses said the Israeli military was responsible for gunfire that Palestinian officials said killed 31 people. A Palestinian boy mourns loved ones who were killed by Israeli fire, as they gathered to try and access food near a US-backed aid center in Rafah, at Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza, on June 3. Stringer/AFP/Getty Images At the time, the Israeli military said its forces 'did not fire at civilians while they were near or within' the aid site, but an Israeli military source acknowledged that Israeli forces fired toward individuals about a kilometer away, before the aid site opened. GHF said on Sunday that none of the gunfire was in the distribution center itself or the surrounding area. After Tuesday's shooting, the organization directed questions about shootings near the aid site to the IDF. 'This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site. We recognize the tragic nature of the situation and remain committed to ensuring the safety of all civilians during humanitarian operations at all of our sites,' GHF said in a statement. What has the reaction been? There has been widespread international condemnation, particularly from the UN. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday he was 'appalled' by the reports of deaths and injuries on Sunday. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' Guterres said in a statement, calling for 'an immediate and independent investigation' into the events and 'for perpetrators to be held accountable.' The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, said on Tuesday that Palestinians have been given 'the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism.' In a post on X, Philippe Lazzarini, executive director of UNRWA, also slammed the new mechanism, saying: 'aid distribution has become a death trap. Mass casualties including scores of injured & killed among starving civilians due to gunshots this morning. This is according to reports from international medics on ground.' The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, last week criticized the new aid mechanism run by GHF, saying the EU does not support 'any kind of privatization of the distribution of humanitarian aid.' The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada have also threatened to take 'concrete action,' including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not stop its renewed military offensive and continues to block aid from entering Gaza.
Egypt Independent
4 days ago
- Egypt Independent
Abdelatty says fire ceasing in Gaza urgent
CAIRO, June 1 (MENA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration Badr Abdelatty said Sunday it was critically important to halt the ongoing war and Israeli aggression on Gaza. This came in a phone call with US President Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. During the conversation, Abdelatty urged the need for immediate and full access to humanitarian aid for Gaza in order to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. He also reiterated the necessity of finding a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one that meets the aspirations of the people in the region and reflects President Trump's vision for achieving comprehensive peace in the area. This phone call is part of the ongoing consultations and coordination between Egypt and the United States regarding the situation in Gaza and the broader Middle East region. The conversation also addressed the joint efforts of Egypt, the United States, and Qatar to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, secure the release of hostages and prisoners, and ensure full access to humanitarian aid. On his part, Witkoff expressed his country's appreciation for Egypt's role and the efforts of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in mediating the ongoing negotiations aimed at ending the war, securing the release of hostages, and allowing aid to reach Gaza. Additionally, the phone call touched on the indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran regarding the Iranian nuclear program. Abdelatty listened to Witkoff's assessment of the ongoing talks. The top diplomat reiterated Egypt's support for the US-Iran negotiations, recognizing them as an important opportunity to de-escalate tensions and prevent the region from sliding into complete chaos. (MENA)
