No damage to oil facilities in Rajaei port blast, Iranian official says

A senior Iranian military official said President Donald Trump’s policies are destabilizing the United States and could accelerate what he called its global decline.

“Trump’s destructive and unlawful behavior has disrupted America internally and created instability internationally,” said Major General Yahya Safavi, top military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, according to Iranian state media.

“His confrontational approach has caused tensions with many countries and undermined global order,” Safavi said on Friday.

In contrast, Safavi described Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as “wise, just, courageous, and humble,” saying, “Such a combination of qualities is rarely seen in a leader.”

Israel would likely carry out a strike on Iran alone if military action were taken while nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran continue, an Israeli official told the Associated Press.

“It is understood that should Israel choose to carry out a strike on Iran, it would likely be doing so alone — so long as negotiations are underway,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Iran will not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. “I said to President Trump that I hope that this is what the negotiators will do,” he said in a recent speech. “But I said one way or the other – Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

“He can’t do anything that goes against Trump. He’s paralyzed,” said Yoel Guzansky, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, about the Israeli prime minister.

“He was banking on Israel’s position relative to Iran to improve under Trump. In practice, it’s the opposite,” said Eytan Gilboa, a US-Israel relations expert at Bar-Ilan University.

An official customs agent said the explosion at Iran’s Shahid Rajaei port was foreseeable and blamed poor infrastructure and container congestion for the deadly incident, which he said killed at least 200 people.

Teimour Bahengam, who was present at the port during the blast, told local media that outdated equipment, oil leaks, and a buildup of over 200,000 containers created dangerous conditions. “This explosion was predictable,” he said. “The machinery is old, the ground is contaminated, and safety protocols are lacking.”

The blast occurred around 12:05 p.m. in the Sina terminal area of the port, shattering windows and sending debris flying across the customs zone. “Nothing was left intact,” Bahengam said, describing doors and windows blown out as far as two kilometers from the site.

Authorities have not confirmed an official death toll. Bahengam said more than 17 bodies were recovered from a single container, and added that at least 200 people were killed. “The blood of each of them is on the government’s hands,” he said.

He also criticized delays in customs processing and currency allocation, which he said had contributed to overcrowding and mismanagement at the port.

Abdoljalil Eiri, a member of Iran’s parliament and part of the investigative team dispatched to Rajaei port, warned that “there are concerns about the possibility of similar incidents in other ports across the country,” following last week's deadly explosion in Bandar Abbas.

The MP said the fire at the country’s largest container port was made worse by malfunctioning emergency systems. “The fire hydrants did not work properly in the first minutes of the incident, and this prevented the blaze from being contained in time,” Eiri said.

He cited “management and infrastructure weaknesses, especially in firefighting equipment,” as playing a major role in the disaster and said those failings are being examined in a report to be read in parliament.

He emphasized that a full and documented investigation is still underway: “Until detailed and documented reports are provided, we cannot definitively judge the causes of the incident.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his country supports the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program, and emphasized Iraq's balanced ties with both nations.

"Iraq has good relations with both Iran and the United States," Sudani said in an interview with US broadcaster Tim Constantine.

He also said Baghdad was not just a host of the upcoming Arab League summit but would act as a proactive player in seeking solutions for regional crises.