(Bloomberg) – The Iranian authorities on Sunday still fought to control fire and smoke more than 24 hours earlier in the key commercial port on the Strait of Hormuz that the state media said it left at least 25 people dead and more than 800 injured.
Saturday’s explosion swung the port of Shahid Rajaee in Bandar Abbas in the southern province of Hormozgan and sent shock waves through the surrounding cities. According to the Iranian Road Minister, Farzaneh Sadegh, who flew to the place to supervise the incident’s investigation, partially restored partially renewed after stopping and the area was evacuated in initial consequences.
The spokesperson for the crisis management in the country did not rule out sabotage, said the semi -official Iranian press agency for work, although it suggested that the explosion is probably due to negligence and quoted the previous warning against poor inspections and maintenance of the harbor.
The disaster remembered the memories of the deadly explosion five years ago in the port of Beirut, which was launched by a shop of highly flammable ammonium nitrate.
The customs office of the Iranian port indicated that Saturday’s incident could be caused by dangerous chemicals stored in this area, although it did not specify materials or what could ignite them. Initial news accused bad safety standards.
Associated Press quoted a possible connection to a recent shipment of missile fuel from China, which intended to supplement Iranian missile reserves that were exhausted by the attacks of the Earth on Israel during its war with Hamas in Gaza.
“The public can be sure that we will announce any cause of the incident,” the Minister of the Interior Escandar Momeni said on state television. “We will act against those responsible and anyone who was sloppy.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezshkian ordered an official investigation that the authorities said that it could take some time.
Local media announced a number of smaller explosions overnight that spread the fire to more cost containers in the port.
It seems that unverified mobile shots show the initial explosion that showed intensive flames and fluttering orange smoke, originally concentrated at one point, followed by a massive explosion. Another video was captured by shock waves swept throughout the area.
The incident occurred on Saturday Iranian and American officials in Muscat, south of the Gulf of Oman to negotiate a new agreement on the nuclear program of the Republic of Islamic. Both parties reported progress and agreed to meet again in Europe soon, although reading indicated that the remaining work remained.
Shahid Rajaee, one of the largest commercial ports in the region, is a vital center for Iranian trade and, according to the State Agency for the Republic of Islam, is delivered by more than half of the country’s export and import.
It is also of strategic importance, sitting on the Hormuz Strait, a key waterway for about 26% of global oil trade. It is associated with Iranian national rail and road networks, connects maritime trade in the country’s industrial centers and serves as a transit route for exports through Iranian borders.
-S assists by Valentine’s Day Baldassari.
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(Tagstotranslate) Iranian authorities
