Port blast exposes 'state failure' regardless of cause, ex-official says

A member of Iran’s parliamentary delegation to Bandar Abbas said the number of deaths from the explosion at Rajaei port continues to rise due to a high number of missing persons.

“The death toll is increasing because many are still unaccounted for,” Morteza Mahmoudi said.

He described the damage as extensive, affecting nearly 2,000 containers, vehicles outside the port, administrative buildings, and electronic systems. “But the greatest loss is the lives of those we have lost,” he added.

Mahmoudi said 45 lawmakers have signed a motion to impeach the transport minister, though he noted the move is not directly tied to the blast.

Four independent labor organizations described the Rajaei port explosion and the deaths of dock workers as a “crime,” rejecting official framing of the blast as an accident.

“The explosion at Bandar Rajaei and the massacre of workers is not an accident; it is a crime,” they said in a joint statement.

The groups, including the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate and the Retirees’ Union of Khuzestan, warned that “crime and lies have become state policy in Iran.”

"Each of these crimes reveals the depth of the catastrophes brought about by the current rulers, who, resorting to every form of shamelessness — even setting groups of people on fire — have used them as stepping stones for their insatiable thirst for power and domination over Iran’s political and economic geography. Feeding off the blood of the people, they seek to ascend to the seats of premiership and ministerial office, driven by an unquenchable greed for money and wealth, which makes these acts particularly significant."

The United States imposed sanctions Tuesday on a network it accused of supplying ballistic missile propellant ingredients to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, escalating its pressure campaign against Tehran.

“Iran's aggressive development of missiles and other weapons capabilities imperils the safety of the United States and our partners,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

"It also destabilizes the Middle East, and violates the global agreements intended to prevent the proliferation of these technologies. To achieve peace through strength, Treasury will continue to take all available measures to deprive Iran's access to resources necessary to advance its missile program."

The Treasury targeted six entities and six individuals, including five China-based companies and one Iranian firm. It said the network procured sodium perchlorate and dioctyl sebacate from China, chemicals used in solid propellant rocket motors commonly found in ballistic missiles.

According to reports, the explosion at Rajaei Port was caused by shipments of sodium perchlorate that had recently been transported from China to Iran and stored at the site.

Initial findings show no foreign involvement in the Rajaei port explosion, said Iran’s parliamentary national security spokesman.

“Based on reports so far, the blast had no external origin,” Ebrahim Rezaei said after a committee briefing on Tuesday.

He added that investigators found evidence of “negligence and failure to observe safety protocols” at the site, which requires further expert review.

Ahmad Ajam and Sara Fallahi, lawmakers sent by the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, submitted their preliminary report to parliament on Tuesday after visiting the port.

The US Treasury Department on Tuesday designated six entities and six individuals based in Iran and China for their role in a network procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients - sodium perchlorate and dioctyl sebacate - on behalf of Iran’s IRGC from China to Iran.

Sodium perchlorate is what the New York Times said was the likely cause of the deadly explosion in Bandar Abbas on Saturday, citing a source close to the Revolutionary Guard.

“Iran’s aggressive development of missiles and other weapons capabilities imperils the safety of the US and our partners,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. 

“It also destabilizes the Middle East, and violates the global agreements intended to prevent the proliferation of these technologies. To achieve peace through strength, Treasury will continue to take all available measures to deprive Iran’s access to resources necessary to advance its missile program.”