Misdeclared cargo, negligence blamed in preliminary Iran port blast findings

Iranian environmental officials said there has been no detectable leak of hazardous materials into the Persian Gulf following the explosion at Bandar Abbas’s Rajaei port.

Habib Masihi Taziani, head of the Hormozgan province environment department, told ISNA news agency that no significant spill or release of toxic substances had been recorded and that pollution was under control.

He said damage assessments would begin after the crisis management phase ends. Soil pollution monitoring is ongoing, and containment measures such as earthen barriers have been installed to prevent any contamination of coastal waters, he added.

An Iranian lawmaker said efforts are underway to officially recognize those killed in the Bandar Abbas port explosion as "martyrs," a designation that would grant benefits for their families.

Abdolkarim Hashemi Nakhl Ebrahimi, a member of parliament representing Minab, said the process would proceed through the Martyrs Foundation after obtaining approval from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to Iranian media.

A video obtained by Iran International shows a large crater formed by the explosion at Iran’s Shahid Rajaei port in Bandar Abbas, days after the blast that killed at least 70 people.

Another video shows the main explosion site, with the surrounding area described by a witness as "turned into a hill of debris and ruins," Iran International reported.

An Iranian member of parliament criticized the government's reliance on potential goodwill from the United States in ongoing nuclear negotiations, saying that the economy should depend on domestic capabilities rather than the "smiles of an enemy whose job is nothing but deception.”

Addressing an open session of parliament on Tuesday, Mohammad Pakmehr said the country’s economy should rely on domestic power and Iranian workers.

Pakmehr questioned whether this approach aligned with the vision of the Supreme Leader, cautioning against being deceived by what he described as illusions.

He pointed to the experience of the previous nuclear deal, the JCPOA, saying, "The enemy remains the enemy, and their nature is to be hostile. We witnessed the JCPOA, a deal where promises yielded only the barrenness of autumn instead of blossoms, an agreement that... wounded the pride of an entire nation."

Iranian forensic authorities have collected DNA samples from the bodies of 19 unidentified victims killed in the Bandar Abbas port explosion, state media reported on Tuesday.

Reza Raoufian, head of the genetic laboratories at the Legal Medicine Organization, said some remains could not be identified through visual examination alone.

He urged relatives of those missing after the blast to visit their local forensic offices to provide DNA samples for matching.