Latest news with #MeysamMirsadeh
Forbes
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Iran Looks Weaker As Tensions Reach Crisis Point In The Region
TOPSHOT - Firefighters and rescuers work at the scene of an explosion that took place a day earlier ... More at the Shahid Rajaee port dock, southwest of Bandar Abbas in the Iranian province of Hormozgan, on April 27, 2025. Fire blazed on April 27, around 24 hours after a massive explosion tore through Iran's largest commercial port, killing at least 28 people and leaving more than 1,000 others injured, according to the Red Crescent. (Photo by Meysam Mirsadeh / TASNIM NEWS / AFP) (Photo by MEYSAM MIRSADEH/TASNIM NEWS/AFP via Getty Images) The Houthi missile that landed near Israel's Ben Gurion airport coming soon after the recent explosion at Iran's strategically critical port near the city of Bandar Abbas may have serious consequences. Israel's war cabinet has been meeting. All out Iran vs Israel war is not out of the question. Hitherto the Jewish State hasn't resolved on such a course absent full-blown US backing which previous administrations have withheld. What the US will do as the situation heats up is anyone's guess, involved as it is currently in deep negotiations with Iran. Even without any escalation, and no matter why it occurred, the port debacle can affect power balances inside Iran. The picture remains as yet unclear regarding the blast's cause - some say sabotage, while others claim rocket fuel delivered from China detonated. Here is a report by an Israeli expert discussing the scenarios. In it, the expert argues that the incident, with up to 1000 casualties according to some estimates, is catastrophic for the Tehran regime because the port serves as a lifeline for the IRGC, both economically and militarily. Including, the argument goes, as an exit port for weapons supplies to Iran's proxies such as the Houthis. The disaster comes at a highly sensitive moment in negotiations between Iran and the US over the lslamic Republic's nuclear and military capacity. As such, damage to the port surely has the effect of weakening Iran's hand in the face-off. Hence the speculations of outside sabotage. But the highly interesting perspective now developing dwells on the domestic repercussions. Anonymous officials have apparently admitted that the explosion was caused by sodium percholate, an essential solid fuel ingredient for Iran's missiles. Authorities have denied it but the rumor is spreading fast and causing anger among the populace. Since the IRGC is considered a central part of the country's ruling elite, popular feeling runs high against its insular operations especially if resulting in a catastrophe that harms ordinary civilians (reports of widespread toxic gas effusions also add to the tensions). No surprise, then, if street demonstrations erupt with this as the latest spark. That, too, one might deduce, weakens Iran's position in the current negotiations. The regime has no maneuvering room for distraction or postponement of the talks owing to internal unrest since any delay could lead quickly to kinetic action by the Israelis (possibly with US support). All of which could logically result in a weakening of the regime and a possible democratic revolution. After all, the one incontrovertible guarantee it has for keeping power is its nuclear undergirding. Absent that, enforced regime change from without becomes a temptation. But, no, sadly for the people of Iran that seems the least likely outcome. None of the relevant countries with influence will encourage that eventuality. The last thing Moscow wants is regime change in Iran that might give rise to a strategic realignment. Ditto for China. Both are comfortable, however, with a weakened Iran that does their bidding, offers better deals, and becomes a more suppliant instrument of their regional ambitions. In exchange they will help uphold the regime as they have hitherto. For some time, Moscow has offered and announced civilian nuclear co-operation with Tehran but the authorities there know that giving Russia full control over their nuclear power merely gifts a foreign country dominance over the regime's fate. At that point, the Kremlin can use Iran as a pawn to make deals with other powers. In the immediate region, the Turks depend on Tehran as a partner in containing Kurdish nationalism within and beyond their borders. But Turkey also has longterm plans to recreate a Turkic silk road through Azerbaijan out to the Central Asian Stans and Iran is currently the main physical obstacle. For some time, to create a stronger land bridge to Central Asia. Turkey has supported Azerbaijan in gradually projecting influence over their Azeri cousins in the Azeri province of northern Iran, ultimately with a view to inciting secession. That is also why Israel has helped support Baku militarily. Iran without its northern province is a much diminished power with less capacity to project force into the Middle East. Such are the potential complex geopolitical ripples from the port explosion in Iran. More immediately the military blow to Iran could include damage to its ability to supply the Russia-allied war machine in Ukraine. Any weakening of Iran's economic, industrial or shipping strength must automatically impair its ability to project power. Not just in supplying missiles to the Houthis but other weapons to proxy militias and Shahed drone parts for use against Ukraine. As things look, Iran is not just diminishing as a regional player but will be lucky to keep its own territory intact over the coming years. Indeed, without the illusions of empire to keep its populace distracted, unable to deliver power and privilege to its elites, internal pressure on the regime will keep mounting. Help from outside allies like Russia and China can keep it whole but for how long?
Egypt Independent
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Iranian authorities say ‘failure to observe safety procedures' at port where explosion killed at least 70 people
CNN — Iranian authorities have said there was a 'failure to observe safety principles' at the port of Bandar Abbas, where an explosion Saturday killed dozens of people, but testing is required to determine the causes of the blast. Eyewitness accounts and video indicate chemicals in an area of shipping containers caught fire, setting off a much larger explosion. The death toll has spiked sharply, with one official telling Iranian state media on Monday that at least 70 have died. At least 1,000 people were reported injured, according to the Associated Press, citing Iranian state TV. Of those wounded, 190 remain in hospital, said Pir Hossein Kolivand, head of Iran's Red Crescent society. One surveillance video distributed by the Fars news agency shows a small fire beginning among containers, with a number of workers moving away from the scene, before a huge explosion ends the video feed. A committee investigating the port explosion released a statement Monday saying that, prior to the blast there had been a 'failure to observe safety principles,' according to state-affiliated outlet Mehr News. 'Determining the definitive cause of this incident requires a complete and comprehensive investigation of its various aspects, which, due to expert requirements, requires technical and laboratory processes,' the statement continued. The statement also referred to 'discrepancies' in statement given to the committee, but did not elaborate on what these might be or their source. CNN has previously reported that hundreds of tons of a critical chemical for fueling Iran's ballistic missile program arrived at the port in February. Another shipment is reported to have arrived in March. Charred merchandise and containers lie at the site of the deadly port explosion. Meysam Mirsadeh/Tasnim News/AFP via Getty Images Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said Monday that authorities 'have been made aware of some shortcomings at the port.' 'Safety precautions and passive defenses were not implemented or taken seriously at the port,' he was cited as saying by semi-official Tasnim news, adding that the fire is under control 'but there are certain containers that just need to burn off, but they are controlled and monitored.' Some people had been summoned as part of the investigation, he said. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency quoted an official as saying the explosion was likely set off by containers of chemicals, but did not identify the chemicals. The agency said late Saturday that the Customs Administration of Iran blamed a 'stockpile of hazardous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area' for the blast. Iran's national oil company said the explosion at the port was 'not related to refineries, fuel tanks, or oil pipelines' in the area. Iranian officials have denied that any military material was held at the port. The spokesman for the national security and foreign policy committee of the Iranian parliament, Ebrahim Rezaei, said in a post on X Sunday that according to initial reports the explosion had 'nothing to do with Iran's defense sector.' Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Bandar Abbas on Sunday afternoon to investigate the situation and oversee relief efforts, according to state media. The president also met with those injured in yesterday's blast. 'We have to find out why it happened,' Pezeshkian said at a meeting with officials aired by Iranian state television. The region's governor, Mohammad Ashouri, declared three days of mourning. Reports of chemical fuel 'for missiles' The blast comes at a time of high tensions in the Middle East and ongoing talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear programme, but no senior figure in Iran has suggested the blast was an attack. Videos and images from the scene, some of which have been geolocated by CNN, show orange-brown smoke rising from part of the port where containers were stacked. Such a color would suggest a chemical such as sodium or ammonia was involved. The New York Times reported Sunday that a person 'with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that what exploded was sodium perchlorate, a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters.' CNN cannot confirm what was being stored in the area at the time of the explosion and it is unclear why such chemicals would be kept at port for so long. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian surveys the damage of the Shahid Rajaee port explosion in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Sunday. Authorities were tight-lipped over the cause of the blast, which killed 40 people. Iran's Presidential Website/Wana News Agency via Reuters Other experts suggested more mundane chemicals might explain the huge blast. 'This bears the hallmarks of an ammonium nitrate explosion. Ammonium nitrate is a commodity chemical that is widely used as a fertilizer and as an industrial explosive, but it is well known that poor storage can significantly raise the risk of an explosion in the event of a fire.' said Andrea Sella, a professor of chemistry at University College London. 'Material ignites and burns fiercely less than a minute later followed seconds later by the devastating detonation. It is the supersonic pressure wave from that that would have shattered windows.' But Dan Kaszeta, a chemical weapons expert who reviewed videos from the scene, said reports of sodium perchlorate 'could provide an explanation for how the explosion started, as perchlorates are used in materials like rocket propellant and fireworks.' 'It is difficult for ammonium nitrate to detonate on its own without other chemicals having been part of a reaction.' he told CNN. Men ride a motorcycle amid the devastation. Mohammad Rasole Moradi/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images In February CNN reported that the first of two vessels carrying 1,000 tons of a Chinese-made chemical that could be a key component in fuel for Iran's military missile program had anchored outside Bandar Abbas. The ship, Golbon, had left the Chinese port of Taicang in January loaded with most of a 1,000-ton shipment of sodium perchlorate, the main precursor in the solid propellant that powers Iran's mid-range conventional missiles, according to two European intelligence sources who spoke with CNN. Sodium perchlorate could allow for the production of sufficient propellant for some 260 solid rocket motors for Iran's Kheibar Shekan missiles or 200 of the Haj Qasem ballistic missiles, according to the intelligence sources. The Chinese Foreign Ministry told CNN in February that 'China has consistently abided by export controls on dual-use items in accordance with its international obligations and domestic laws and regulations,' adding that 'sodium perchlorate is not a controlled item by China, and its export would be considered normal trade.'
RNZ News
27-04-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Death toll from blast at Iran's Bandar Abbas port rises to 40
Firefighters and rescuers work at the scene of an explosion that took place a day earlier at the Shahid Rajaee port dock. Photo: AFP / Meysam Mirsadeh The death toll from a powerful explosion at Iran's biggest port of Bandar Abbas has risen to at least 40, with more than 1200 people injured, state media reported, as firefighters worked to fully extinguish the fire. Saturday's blast took place in the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, Iran's biggest container hub, shattering windows for several kilometres around, tearing metal strips off shipping containers and badly damaging goods inside, state media said. The incident occurred as Iran held a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman. Fires kept breaking out in different parts of the affected area as of Sunday night, according to state media, with helicopters and fire fighters continuing efforts to extinguish them. Chemicals at the port were suspected to have fuelled the explosion, but the exact cause was not clear and Iran's Defence Ministry denied international media reports that the blast may be linked to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles. A spokesperson for the ministry told state TV the reports were "aligned with enemy psyops", saying that the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo. Devastation at the scene of an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port dock southwest of Bandar Abbas. Photo: AFP The Associated Press cited British security firm Ambrey as saying the port in March had received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and whose mishandling could have led to the explosion. The Financial Times newspaper reported in January the shipment of two Iranian vessels from China containing enough of the ingredient to propel as many as 260 mid-range missiles, helping Tehran to replenish its stocks following its direct missile attacks on its arch-foe Israel in 2024. Plumes of black smoke rose above the site on Sunday and pieces of twisted metal and debris lay scattered across the blast site. By early afternoon, the head of Iran's Red Crescent Society told state media the fire was 90 percent extinguished and officials said port activities had resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaee. A spokesperson for the country's crisis management organisation appeared on Saturday to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee, adding that earlier warnings had highlighted potential safety risks. Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani cautioned against "premature speculation", saying final assessments would be shared after investigations. Negligence has often been blamed in a series of deadly incidents that have hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years. "Did we really have to hold the container here for 3-4 months... until we had 120-140 thousand containers stored in this place?", Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said after arriving in Bandar Abbas on Sunday. Incidents in the country 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 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. - Reuters
Egypt Independent
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Iran tight-lipped on cause of deadly port explosion amid reports of possible presence of chemicals used to fuel missiles
CNN — Iranian authorities have not said what caused the massive explosion at the port of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, killing at least 28 people, but video footage and unconfirmed reports point to the possible presence of a chemical used to make missile propellant. Eyewitness accounts and video indicate chemicals in an area of shipping containers caught fire, setting off a much larger explosion. The death toll spiked sharply following the incident, with 800 others also reported injured. One surveillance video distributed by the Fars news agency shows a small fire beginning among containers, with a number of workers moving away from the scene, before a huge explosion ends the video feed. CNN has previously reported that hundreds of tons of a critical chemical for fueling Iran's ballistic missile program arrived at the port in February. Another shipment is reported to have arrived in March. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency quoted an official as saying the explosion was likely set off by containers of chemicals, but did not identify the chemicals. The agency said late Saturday that the Customs Administration of Iran blamed a 'stockpile of hazardous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area' for the blast. Charred merchandise and containers lie at the site of the deadly port explosion. Meysam Mirsadeh/Tasnim News/AFP via Getty Images Iran's national oil company said the explosion at the port was 'not related to refineries, fuel tanks, or oil pipelines' in the area. Iranian officials have denied that any military materiel was held at the port. The spokesman for the national security and foreign policy committee of the Iranian parliament, Ebrahim Rezaei, said in a post on X Sunday that according to initial reports the explosion had 'nothing to do with Iran's defense sector.' The blast comes at a time of high tensions in the Middle East and ongoing talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear programme, but no senior figure in Iran has suggested the blast was an attack. Videos and images from the scene, some of which have been geolocated by CNN, show orange-brown smoke rising from part of the port where containers were stacked. Such a color would suggest a chemical such as sodium or ammonia was involved. Fires at the port were still burning Sunday, although Iranian state media said they were 80% contained. The New York Times reported Sunday that a person 'with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that what exploded was sodium perchlorate, a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters.' CNN cannot confirm what was being stored in the area at the time of the explosion and it is unclear why such chemicals would be kept at port for so long. Men ride a motorcycle amid the devastation. Mohammad Rasole Moradi/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images In February CNN reported that the first of two vessels carrying 1,000 tons of a Chinese-made chemical that could be a key component in fuel for Iran's military missile program had anchored outside Bandar Abbas. The ship, Golbon, had left the Chinese port of Taicang in January loaded with most of a 1,000-ton shipment of sodium perchlorate, the main precursor in the solid propellant that powers Iran's mid-range conventional missiles, according to two European intelligence sources who spoke with CNN. Sodium perchlorate could allow for the production of sufficient propellant for some 260 solid rocket motors for Iran's Kheibar Shekan missiles or 200 of the Haj Qasem ballistic missiles, according to the intelligence sources. The Chinese Foreign Ministry told CNN in February that 'China has consistently abided by export controls on dual-use items in accordance with its international obligations and domestic laws and regulations,' adding that 'sodium perchlorate is not a controlled item by China, and its export would be considered normal trade.'
