At least 25 people have been killed and 800 injured in a powerful explosion and fire at a port in southern Iran.
Saturday's explosion was reportedly linked to shipments of a chemical component used to make rocket fuel.
Helicopters were dropping water on the fire hours after the first blast, which occurred at the port of Shahid Rajaee as Iran and the United States were meeting in Oman for a third round of talks on Tehran's fast-growing nuclear programme.
No one in Iran has suggested the blast was an attack, but even Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led the talks, acknowledged on Wednesday that “our security services are on high alert given previous sabotage attempts and assassination operations aimed at provoking a legitimate response.”
State media reported the casualties, saying authorities had only identified 10 of the dead, including two women.
It is unclear what caused the fire near Bandar Abbas, which burned into Saturday evening and caused other containers to explode.
Private security company Ambrey said the port received a shipment of “sodium perchlorate rocket fuel” in March.
The fuel was part of a shipment sent from China on two ships to Iran, first reported by the Financial Times in January.
The fuel was planned to be used to replenish Iran's missile stockpiles, which had been depleted by direct attacks on Israel during the conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“The fire was reportedly caused by improper handling of a batch of solid fuel intended for Iranian ballistic missiles,” Embry said.
Vessel tracking data shows one of the ships suspected of carrying chemicals was nearby in March, Embry said.
Iran has not confirmed receipt of the cargo, and Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
It is unclear why Iran has not removed the chemicals from the port, especially after the Beirut port explosion in 2020.
The blast, caused by hundreds of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6,000.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
