Latest news with #HosseinZafari
eNCA
29-04-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Iran says fire contained after deadly blast at key port
TEHRAN - Firefighters have brought under control a blaze at Iran's main port, following a deadly explosion blamed on negligence, authorities in the Islamic republic said. The explosion, heard dozens of kilometres (miles) away, hit a dock at the southern port of Shahid Rajaee on Saturday. At least 70 people were killed and more than 1,000 others suffered injuries in the blast and ensuing fire, which also caused extensive damage, state media reported. Red Crescent official Mokhtar Salahshour told the channel late Monday that the fire had been "contained" and a clean-up was under way. State television aired live footage on Tuesday showing thick smoke rising from stacked containers. Iran's ILNA news agency quoted Hossein Zafari, spokesman for the country's crisis management organisation, as saying the situation had improved significantly since Monday. However, "the operation and complete extinguishing process may take around 15 to 20 days", the agency reported. Iran's customs authority said port operations had returned to normal, according to the IRNA news agency. The port of Shahid Rajaee lies near the major coastal city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. Hormozgan provincial governor Mohammad Ashouri ruled out sabotage. "The set of hypotheses and investigations carried out during the process indicated that the sabotage theory lacks basis or relevance," he told state television late Monday. The port's customs office said the blast may have started in a depot storing hazardous and chemical materials. Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said there were "shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence".
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Iran says fire contained after deadly blast at key port
Firefighters have brought under control a blaze at Iran's main port, following a deadly explosion blamed on negligence, authorities in the Islamic republic said. The explosion, heard dozens of kilometres (miles) away, hit a dock at the southern port of Shahid Rajaee on Saturday. At least 70 people were killed and more than 1,000 others suffered injuries in the blast and ensuing fire, which also caused extensive damage, state media reported. Red Crescent official Mokhtar Salahshour told the channel late Monday that the fire had been "contained" and a clean-up was under way. State television aired live footage on Tuesday showing thick smoke rising from stacked containers. Iran's ILNA news agency quoted Hossein Zafari, spokesman for the country's crisis management organisation, as saying the situation had improved significantly since Monday. However, "the operation and complete extinguishing process may take around 15 to 20 days", the agency reported. Iran's customs authority said port operations had returned to normal, according to the IRNA news agency. The port of Shahid Rajaee lies near the major coastal city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. Hormozgan provincial governor Mohammad Ashouri ruled out sabotage. "The set of hypotheses and investigations carried out during the process indicated that the sabotage theory lacks basis or relevance," he told state television late Monday. The port's customs office said the blast may have started in a depot storing hazardous and chemical materials. Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said there were "shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence". A committee assigned to investigate the blast cited similar factors as the likely cause. rkh-mz/dv
Int'l Business Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Iran Says Fire Contained After Deadly Blast At Key Port
Firefighters have brought under control a blaze at Iran's main port, following a deadly explosion blamed on negligence, authorities in the Islamic republic said. The explosion, heard dozens of kilometres (miles) away, hit a dock at the southern port of Shahid Rajaee on Saturday. At least 70 people were killed and more than 1,000 others suffered injuries in the blast and ensuing fire, which also caused extensive damage, state media reported. Red Crescent official Mokhtar Salahshour told the channel late Monday that the fire had been "contained" and a clean-up was under way. State television aired live footage on Tuesday showing thick smoke rising from stacked containers. Iran's ILNA news agency quoted Hossein Zafari, spokesman for the country's crisis management organisation, as saying the situation had improved significantly since Monday. However, "the operation and complete extinguishing process may take around 15 to 20 days", the agency reported. Iran's customs authority said port operations had returned to normal, according to the IRNA news agency. The port of Shahid Rajaee lies near the major coastal city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. Hormozgan provincial governor Mohammad Ashouri ruled out sabotage. "The set of hypotheses and investigations carried out during the process indicated that the sabotage theory lacks basis or relevance," he told state television late Monday. The port's customs office said the blast may have started in a depot storing hazardous and chemical materials. Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said there were "shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence". A committee assigned to investigate the blast cited similar factors as the likely cause.
Russia Today
28-04-2025
- Health
- Russia Today
Iran blast death toll rises amid chemical attack fears (VIDEOS)
A massive explosion followed by a fire at a major Iranian port — a crucial hub for oil and petrochemical exports near the Strait of Hormuz — has left 25 people dead and injured around 800 others, Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday, citing a local official. The blast occurred at approximately 11:55am on Saturday at the Shahid Rajaee port facility in the city of Bandar Abbas. Early Sunday morning, the director general of Hormozgan Province's crisis management reported that 18 people had been confirmed dead, with the number of injured exceeding 800. He noted that about two-thirds of those hospitalized have already been discharged from medical centers, while the rest continue to receive treatment. Firefighters were still battling the blaze late into the night. Authorities secured the area and adjacent customs facilities to conduct a probe, suspecting poor chemical storage as a possible cause. 'The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,' Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for the country's crisis management organization, told Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA). 'Previously, the director general of crisis management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger.' However, the exact cause had not yet been officially determined, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told media outlets. Iranian media provided conflicting accounts of the incident, with some suggesting the initial blast occurred at an administrative building, while others claimed a gas tanker may have exploded. A close-up video circulating online appeared to show the epicenter located at a freight container stockpile. Other footage posted online showed thick smoke rising over the port area, as authorities evacuated nearby neighborhoods and temporarily suspended port operations. In response to concerns regarding air quality, Iran's health ministry declared a public health emergency in Bandar Abbas, warning of the potential spread of hazardous pollutants including ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Residents were urged to stay indoors, avoid outdoor activities, and keep windows closed. Vulnerable groups – including people with respiratory or heart conditions, children, pregnant women, and the elderly – were advised to wear masks. Several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Japan, and Russia, have expressed condolences following the disaster. Saudi Arabia said it was ready to provide any assistance requested by Iran, while Russia's embassy in Tehran stated it would promptly relay any request for help to Moscow. Iraq's foreign ministry also offered support, with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordering officials to coordinate aid efforts with Iranian authorities. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian offered his condolences to the victims and ordered a full investigation. The country's prosecutor general instructed the provincial office to 'deal with the possible perpetrators of the incident with utmost seriousness.' Shahid Rajaee is a strategic port facility located on the Strait of Hormuz about 1,050 kilometers southeast of Tehran. The port was targeted in a suspected Israeli cyberattack in 2020. Iranian officials have not blamed any outside actor for Saturday's incident, although the country's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned earlier this week that 'our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage.'
ARN News Center
27-04-2025
- Politics
- ARN News Center
More than 700 injured in Iran's explosion
A huge blast most likely caused by the explosion of chemical materials killed at least 18 people and injured more than 700 on Saturday at Iran's biggest port, Bandar Abbas, Iranian state media reported. The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no indication of a link between the two events. Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran's crisis management organisation, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee. "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. However, an Iranian government spokesperson said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason. President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation of the incident and sent to the site his interior minister, who said efforts were continuing to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas. Iran's official news channels aired footage of a vast black and orange cloud of smoke billowing up above the port in the aftermath of the blast, and an office building with its doors blown off and papers and debris strewn around. Located near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Shahid Rajaee port is Iran's biggest container hub, handling a majority of the country's container goods, according to state media. The blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometres and was heard in Qeshm, an island 26 kilometres (16 miles) south of the port, Iranian media said. The semi-official Tasnim news agency posted footage of injured men lying on the road being tended to amid scenes of confusion. State TV earlier reported that poor handling of flammable materials was a "contributing factor" to the explosion. A local crisis management official told state TV that the blast took place after several containers stored at the port exploded. As relief workers tried to put out fires, the port's customs officials said trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained "dangerous goods and chemicals". Activities at the port were halted after the blast, officials said. DEADLY INCIDENTS A series of deadly incidents has hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years, with many, like Saturday's blast, blamed on negligence. They have included refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coal mine, and an emergency repair incident at Bandar Abbas that killed one worker in 2023. Iran has blamed some other incidents on its arch-foe Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil targeting Iran's nuclear programme in recent years and last year bombed the country's air defences. Tehran said Israel was behind a February 2024 attack on Iranian gas pipelines, while in 2020 computers at Shahid Rajaee were hit by a cyberattack. The Washington Post reported that Israel appeared to be behind that incident as retaliation for an earlier Iranian cyberattack. Israel has indicated it is nervous about the outcome of U.S.-Iran talks, demanding a full dismantlement of Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran says the programme is used solely for peaceful purposes, while international observers say it is getting closer to being able to build a bomb. There was no immediate comment from Israel's military or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office when asked for comment on whether Israel was in any way involved in Saturday's explosion. Oil facilities were not affected by the blast on Saturday, Iranian authorities said. The National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company said in a statement it had "no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines."
