Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, Apr 29: The Governor of Iran's southern Hormozgan province, Mohammad Ashouri Taziani, today dismissed the theory that sabotage was the cause of the devastating explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port. The blast and subsequent fire on Saturday resulted in at least 70 fatalities and over 1,200 injuries, according to the official news agency IRNA.
Elaborating on the likely causes, Ashouri Taziani noted that while some foreign media outlets speculated about potential sabotage, preliminary investigations have not provided "sufficient strength" to support this hypothesis.
He stated that, according to a statement from the provincial crisis management headquarters, a failure to adequately observe safety and passive defense measures was identified as a primary contributing factor to the incident.
Echoing this assessment, Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni had identified "certain negligence" as a contributing factor to the deadly explosion on Monday, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Meanwhile, the semi-official Mehr news agency, citing the provincial governor, reported that the fire at Shahid Rajaee Port has been fully extinguished, and rescue and relief operations are ongoing.
On Monday, speaking to state-run IRIB TV, Interior Minister Momeni further detailed the ongoing investigations in Bandar Abbas, the provincial capital and location of the port. He mentioned that individuals whose negligence had been confirmed during an earlier meeting were summoned. Momeni emphasized that inadequate adherence to safety regulations and passive defense measures contributed to the disaster, urging relevant authorities and the investigative committee to expedite their efforts to accurately determine the full cause.
Following the deadly blast, Hossein Sajedinia, head of Iran's National Disaster Management Organisation, informed IRIB on Sunday that some of the containers at the port held flammable materials, such as pitch, while others contained chemicals.
Despite the tragic incident, the official news agency IRNA reported that the port's wharfs have resumed operations and cargo handling.