The explosion at Shahid Rajaei port on Saturday likely involved missile fuel rather than ordinary chemical materials, aerospace expert Adrian Fazaeli said in an interview with Iran International.
"This type of material does not explode under normal conditions with just heat or air," Fazaeli said. "They need an initial detonation to ignite and explode."
Fazaeli said the intensity of the explosion, the mushroom-shaped cloud, and the color of the smoke all pointed to the presence of aluminum compounds used in missile fuel. "The white smoke we saw is very similar to the burning of missile fuel, which contains aluminum and oxidizers," he said.
He added that the timing of the explosion coincided with the unloading of fuel reportedly purchased from China, and this made it unlikely that the incident was caused by industrial negligence.
"The chance that this was a safety issue is very, very low," Fazaeli said. "Especially since Iran’s domestic solid fuel mixers were destroyed recently, and Iran had to buy ready-made fuel likely from China."
Fazaili said the circumstances suggest the materials involved were military-grade, intended for Iran’s missile program.
