Video shows crater left by deadly explosion at Iran’s Rajaei port

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.

Both the United States and Iran are in dire need of a new nuclear agreement, despite remaining obstacles, according to an op-ed published in Gulf News.

Columnist Osama Al Sharif argues that recent developments, including the third round of indirect negotiations in Oman involving technical experts, suggest a growing momentum towards a deal, with both sides expressing cautious optimism.

He attributes this shift to several factors, including President Donald Trump's desire for a foreign policy breakthrough and Iran's vulnerability following regional setbacks.

"Trump, who was hoping to end the war in Ukraine on day one as promised, is looking for a foreign policy breakthrough," Al Sharif wrote. "While President Vladimir Putin showed little interest in embracing a deal that would require him to give up territory, the Iranians, on the other hand, appeared compromised after a series of regional setbacks in Syria and Lebanon."

The columnist added that while Trump had previously withdrawn the US from the 2015 nuclear deal and criticized it as weak, he is now actively pursuing a new agreement potentially similar to the 2015 agreement. This shift, Al Sharif suggests, is driven by Trump's desire to secure a significant foreign policy achievement.

He cautioned that “What could bog down the talks, though, are other issues, such as Iran’s long-range missile program, its support of regional proxies, and its strategic ties to China and Russia.”

Satellite images taken before and after the explosion at Iran’s Shahid Rajaei port show the blast’s impact on the area, with smoke rising over the site days after the incident.

A Planet Labs image from April 9 shows the port intact, while a second image from April 28 shows smoke drifting over the facility following the April 26 explosion.

The incident occurred at the Ava Nar Parsian Chemical Industries warehouse in the Meymeh district of Isfahan province, according to the provincial crisis management office.

Emergency services and firefighters were dispatched to the site. No official cause has been announced.

The blast comes amid a wave of explosions across Iran, including a deadly fire at a fuel depot in Zahedan on Monday that killed one person and critically injured two others, according to the local rights group Hal Vash.

Over the past four days, at least 73 people have been reported killed in similar incidents nationwide, including 70 killed in Saturday’s massive explosion at Rajaei port in the southern city of Bandar Abbas.

The site of Tuesday’s blast, Ava Nar Parsian, according to its website, manufactures fireworks and gunpowder and operates under the supervision of Iran’s National Security Council—the country’s highest decision-making body on security matters.

However, investigations by Iran International suggest the company may also be linked to Iran's security and military apparatus.

One of Ava Nar Parsian’s top executives, Damoun Beheshtnejad, previously held a managerial position at Nargostar Sepahan, another chemical facility in Isfahan that was the site of a major explosion in June 2021.

At the time, British newspaper The Guardian reported that the complex housed the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA), a key player in the Islamic Republic’s drone program.

According to official company filings, certain decisions at Ava Nar Parsian fall under the authority of the "Intelligence Protection Organization for Weapons and Ammunition Management of Isfahan Province." The company is licensed to produce, trade, import, and export commercial, industrial, and chemical explosives.