The explosion at Rajaei port in southern Iran, which killed over 28 people and injured over 1000, was caused by a missile fuel component that was imported from China, according to the report. This comes as conflicting reports emerge regarding the cause of the explosion in conversation and reformist media outlets in Iran.
According to an individual linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the explosion occurred in a shipment from China of a chemical used to produce missile fuel. The chemical that exploded was identified by the official to The New York Times as sodium perchlorate, a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.
The chemicals were reportedly shipped into the port in March in two vessels from China.
The port's customs office in a statement said the explosion resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot. Though the officials confirmed that several containers exploded, they have not yet identified what the chemical is.
However, Iranian officials denied the rumours that the blast was caused by a missile fuel explosion, stating that there was no link between the explosion and the country's defence sector.
🔴IRAN 🇮🇷| #Tragedy: a massive explosion rocked the Shahid Rajaee port in #BandarAbbas city, southern #Iran, this Saturday 26. Witnesses reported a huge blast that "shook the ground" and was felt in neighboring towns. At least 100 people were reported dead. Emergency on site. pic.twitter.com/yMllCPs6GJ
— Nanana365 (@nanana365media) April 26, 2025
A video shared on social media shows the moment a huge explosion struck Rajaei port in southern Iran and the powerful blast wave that followed. pic.twitter.com/DLZYqt0Cyv
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 26, 2025
The Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission spokesperson Ebrahim Rezaei took to X to state that preliminary reports hint the cause of the explosion had nothing to do with the Iranian defence sector.
The Iranian officials also asked online media outlets and social media users not to raise "issues that may cause psychological distress in society." It also warned that running unconfirmed stories, spreading lies and upsetting the psychological security of the country will result in prosecution, according to Iranian state media.
Foreign adversary or negligence?
Interestingly, Iranian local media houses continue to give conflicting reports as to what caused the blast. While conservative outlets pinned the blame on safety failures, one reformist-aligned paper called it a "sabotage linked to foreign adversaries."
A leading reformist daily, Ham-Mihan, suggested in its editorial that the timing of the explosion, coinciding with Iran-US negotiations in Muscat, was unlikely to be accidental. "It is improbable that the explosion’s concurrence with the start of technical talks between Iran and America is coincidental,” the editorial said.
However, another conservative daily countered the argument, stating that linking the explosion to Muscat talks was based on "unsupported narratives spread by fake news networks".
