Iran minister blames ‘negligence’ for port blast that killed 65

Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work following an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, April 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Updated 28 April 2025
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Iran minister blames ‘negligence’ for port blast that killed 65

  • Iran’s state TV showed images of firefighters still dousing the flames Monday, and said the damage would be assessed after the fire was fully brought under control

TEHRAN: Iran’s interior minister on Monday blamed “negligence” for a massive explosion that killed 65 people at the country’s largest commercial port, with firefighters still battling a blaze at the facility two days later.
The blast occurred on Saturday at the Shahid Rajaee Port in Iran’s south, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.
“The death toll has reached 65 in this horrific incident,” Mohammad Ashouri, governor of the southern Hormozgan province where the port is located, told state television, adding that the fire has not been fully extinguished yet.
Officials have said more than 1,000 people were injured. The province’s crisis management director, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, said most had already been released after treatment.
On Monday, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni told state TV that “culprits have been identified and summoned,” and that the blast was caused by “shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence.”
Momeni, who has been in the area since hours after the blast, stated that the “investigation is still underway.”
Iran’s state TV showed images of firefighters still dousing the flames Monday, and said the damage would be assessed after the fire was fully brought under control.
Heavy charcoal-black smoke continued to billow over low flames at part of the site, above which a firefighting helicopter flew, pictures from the Iranian Red Crescent showed.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a probe into the incident.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion but the port’s customs office said it likely resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot.
CCTV images on social media showed it began gradually, with a small fire belching orange-brown smoke among a few containers stacked outside, across from a warehouse.
A small forklift truck drives past the area and men can be seen walking nearby.
About one minute after the small fire and smoke become visible, a fireball erupts as vehicles pass nearby, with men running for their lives.
President Masoud Pezeshkian visited hospitals treating the wounded on Sunday in the nearby city of Bandar Abbas.
Since the explosion, authorities have ordered all schools and offices in the area closed, and have urged residents to avoid going outside “until further notice” and to use protective masks.
The New York Times quoted a person with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, as saying that what exploded was sodium perchlorate — a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.
Defense ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik later told state TV that “there has been no imported or exported cargo for military fuel or military use in the area.”
Iran’s ally Russia has dispatched specialists to help battle the blazes.
Authorities have declared Monday a national day of mourning, while three days of mourning began Sunday in Hormozgan province.
The blast occurred as Iranian and US delegations were meeting in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear program.
While Iranian authorities so far appear to be treating the blast as an accident, it also comes against the backdrop of years of shadow war with regional foe Israel.
According to The Washington Post, Israel launched a cyberattack targeting the Shahid Rajaee Port in 2020.


Syrian president condemns Iranian attack on Qatar

Updated 3 sec ago
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Syrian president condemns Iranian attack on Qatar

  • Ahmad Al-Sharaa tells Qatari emir that Damascus rejects any aggression that threatens Qatar’s security or undermines regional stability

LONDON: Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa expressed his country’s support for Qatar on Tuesday and condemned the previous day’s attack by Iran on Al-Udeid Air Base, southwest of Doha.

During a telephone call to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, Al-Sharaa described the missile attack by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a blatant violation of Qatari sovereignty and airspace, and a breach of international law.

He reaffirmed that Damascus rejects any aggression that threatens the security of Qatar or undermines regional stability, the Qatar News Agency reported.

The new government in Damascus, established after former President Bashar Assad’s regime was toppled in December 2024, has shifted away from Assad’s long-standing alliance with Tehran as it works to reintegrate Syria into the Arab fold, and promote diplomacy and economic growth.


About 400 passengers have left Israel on US-assisted flights

Updated 3 min 37 sec ago
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About 400 passengers have left Israel on US-assisted flights

The State Department is sharing information with over 27,000 people about leaving the region
The US started some limited assisted-departure flights for US citizens

WASHINGTON: The United States has helped about 400 US citizens and others to fly out of Israel since Saturday amid conflict with Iran and hopes to accommodate more in the coming days, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.

“We very much know that there’s still capacity, still US citizens seeking to leave Israel, that the airspace is not reliably opened up. It is incredibly dynamic,” the official said.

The State Department is sharing information with over 27,000 people about leaving the region and safety and security, the official said, up from 25,000 last week.

The US started some limited assisted-departure flights for US citizens, lawful permanent residents and their immediate family members on Saturday.

The official said thousands had also left Israel overland for Jordan, while several hundred had departed through Egypt over the past two days. Several thousand US citizens have gone to Cyprus on ships, mostly arranged by Birthright or other private groups.

Hundreds have left Iran through Azerbaijan, the official said. Turkmenistan has been restricting the entry of US citizens but is now allowing them in after weekend diplomatic efforts.

The State Department is aware of reports of a couple of US citizens detained in Iran in this process but has no additional information to share, the official said.

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Israel and Iran had reached a ceasefire
deal, although violations were reported.

Israel launched a surprise attack on June 13, hitting Iran’s nuclear sites and killing the top echelon of its military command.

Retaliatory missile strikes have killed 28 people in Israel.

Adam Goldstone, who arrived in Florida on Tuesday after leaving Israel through an effort to evacuate Americans organized by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Emergency Management, said his family tried any way to get out of the country but that there were not many options.

“It was pretty indescribable. We left Sunday morning. There were sirens. We took a bus all the way to the Jordanian border. We spent hours at the border there trying to cross over,” Goldstone said.

Florida contracted the operation with Grey Bull Rescue, a Tampa-based foundation aiming at rescuing Americans from conflict zones, as well as the state’s Department of Transportation.


His wife, Donna Goldstone, said they had had to run to bomb shelters over 25 times.

“Sleepless nights for the past week and a half. It has been really intense,” she said.

Turning plastic into fuel: Photos of Gaza’s youth surviving with makeshift burners

Updated 17 min 58 sec ago
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Turning plastic into fuel: Photos of Gaza’s youth surviving with makeshift burners

  • The fuel they produce is used locally, often for generators or transport, and sold at a lower price than commercial alternatives

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: South of Gaza City, along the Sea Road that runs beside the Mediterranean, Palestinian youth are producing fuel by melting plastic in makeshift burners. With limited access to commercial fuel, they collect plastic waste, process it in metal drums to extract crude fuel, and then bottle and sell it to passersby.
The work unfolds in the open air, where black smoke billows from the burners, blanketing the roadside. The area is lined with small tents where the youth store materials and rest between shifts. Horse-drawn carts and pedestrians regularly pass through the smoke-filled stretch, moving between northern and southern Gaza.
Most of those involved in the trade are displaced and have few other sources of income. The fuel they produce is used locally, often for generators or transport, and sold at a lower price than commercial alternatives.
Though the process is simple, it involves long hours and exposure to fumes and open flames. For these youth, it has become a way to earn money and support their families in a difficult and unstable environment.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

 


France condemns deadly ‘Israeli fire’ near Gaza aid point

Updated 45 min 14 sec ago
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France condemns deadly ‘Israeli fire’ near Gaza aid point

  • The territory of more than two million people is suffering from famine-like conditions after Israel blocked all supplies from early March to the end of May and continues to impose restrictions, according to human rights groups
  • The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives

PARIS: France on Tuesday condemned what it called deadly “Israeli fire” against civilians in Gaza, after rescuers accused Israeli forces of killing 21 people as they waited for aid.
“France condemns the Israeli fire that last night hit civilians gathered around an aid distribution center in Gaza, causing several dozen dead and wounded,” the foreign ministry said, appearing to refer to an incident early on Tuesday in central Gaza that the Israeli military says was “under review.”
In a second such incident, a civil defense spokesman also reported Israeli fire killing a further 25 people seeking rations in south Gaza later in the day.
According to figures issued on Tuesday by the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, a territory run by the Hamas Islamist group, at least 516 people have been killed and nearly 3,800 wounded by Israeli fire while seeking rations since late May.
The territory of more than two million people is suffering from famine-like conditions after Israel blocked all supplies from early March to the end of May and continues to impose restrictions, according to human rights groups.
The aid is being distributed by US- and Israeli-backed privately run aid group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which was brought into the Palestinian territory at the end of May to replace UN agencies.
The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
“France reiterates its full support for United Nations agencies and their humanitarian partners, who have proven their integrity and ability to deliver aid in full respect of humanitarian principles,” the ministry said.
“Humanitarian aid must not be exploited for political or military purposes,” it added.
“France calls on the Israeli government to allow immediate, massive, and unhindered access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.”

 


Algeria prosecution seeks 10 years jail for writer Sansal on appeal

Updated 24 June 2025
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Algeria prosecution seeks 10 years jail for writer Sansal on appeal

  • The dual Algerian French writer, whose case has been at the heart of a diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers, was sentenced to five years imprisonment on March 27
  • Sansal, 80, was arrested in November at the Algiers airport and has been detained since for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity

ALGIERS: Algeria’s prosecutor general sought at an appeal hearing on Tuesday 10 years in prison for novelist Boualem Sansal, doubling his current sentence, an AFP journalist in the courtroom reported.

The dual Algerian French writer, whose case has been at the heart of a diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers, was sentenced to five years imprisonment on March 27.

A verdict is expected on July 1.

Sansal, 80, was arrested in November at the Algiers airport and has been detained since for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity.

This came after he said in an interview with a far-right French media outlet that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830-1962 colonial era.

The statement was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national sovereignty and echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim.

On Tuesday, Sansal appeared before the judge without legal representation after authorities said he wished to defend himself.

“The Algerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience,” he told the court during the roughly 20-minute hearing, seemingly in good health. “This makes no sense.”

Defending the remarks he made to French far-right media on Algeria’s borders, he said: “Fortunately, after independence in 1962, the African Union declared that inherited colonial borders are inviolable.”

Also questioned on some of his books, Sansal answered: “We are holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?“

According to his relatives, Sansal has been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, and many feared his health would deteriorate in prison.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” toward Sansal.

But Algiers has insisted that the writer has been afforded due process.

His conviction and sentence further frayed ties between Paris and Algiers, already strained by migration issues and Macron’s recognition last year of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is claimed by the Algeria-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.

Charges against the writer include “undermining national unity,” “insulting state institutions,” “harming the national economy,” and “possessing media and publications threatening the country’s security and stability.”