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Iran port explosion caused by Chinese missile fuel: Reports
In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, a helicopter drops water on the fire after a massive explosion rocked a port near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (Photo: AP)
The massive explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas port was caused by imported missile fuel from China, according to reports.
Earlier this year, China had imported ammonium perchlorate from China. The chemical is used a fuel to propel missiles. The sale of ammonium perchlorate to Iran is restricted under US sanctions on the Islamist regime.
There are indications that the explosion at the port that killed dozens and injured hundreds was caused by the mishandling of ammonium perchlorate.
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At least 40 people have been killed and 1,200 injured in the explosion, according to Iranian state media.
The New York Times and private security company Ambrey reported that the blast was a result of improper storage of ammonium perchlorate at the port.
Iran had imported ammonium perchlorate from China this year as a result of the depletion of Iran's stocks after two rounds of aerial battles with Israel. In these battles, Israel had also damaged Iran's missile production capabilities in addition to taking out most of the regime's air defences.
Iranian state media have reported that the blast at Bandar Abbas was likely set off by containers of chemicals but did not go into specifics. The media have suggested sabotage.
Earlier this year, at least two ships named Golbon and MV Jairan arrived in Iran from China with more than 1,000 tons of ammonium perchlorate at the behest of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran, according to CNN.
Shipping Journal Maritime Executive reported that combined cargos of the two ships 'would be sufficient to fuel approximately 250 medium range Khybar-Shikan and Fattah missiles, or shorter range Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles, or their Houthi equivalents'.
Earlier in January, when the supply of ammonium perchlorate from China to Iran was first reported, former CIA analyst Dennis Wilder told Financial Times that China has a long history of arming Iran dating back to 1980s when it supplied Silkworm anti-ship missiles during the Iran-Iraq war.
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'Since the early 1990s, China has assisted the Iranian military extensively with its ballistic missile development programme and has provided expertise, technology, parts, and training. China's motivation for secretly assisting Iran today includes clandestinely helping Iran produce missiles for the Russian war effort [in Ukraine], cementing common cause against perceived US hegemonism . . . and Beijing's purchase annually of large amounts of discounted Iranian crude oil,' said Wilder, who is currently an assistant professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
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First Post
5 hours ago
- First Post
Bangladesh under Yunus: Mob rule and mayhem see over 600 lynching deaths in year since Hasina's fall
In the one year since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and the appointment of Muhammad Yunus as the country's interim ruler, Bangladesh has descended into a state of lawlessness helmed by Islamists, with mob justice becoming the norm. A report has said that more than 600 lynchings have taken place over the past year. read more Men run past a shopping center which was set on fire by protesters during a rally against then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Sunday, August 4, 2024. (Photo: Rajib Dhar/AP) Over the past one year since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has slipped into a state of lawlessness under the interim government of Muhammad Yunus, the octogenarian propped by the agitators and the military as the country's unelected ruler. Amid cyclic attacks on the country's religious minorities, particularly Hindus, mob violence has increasingly become the norm in Bangladesh that has not even spared the country's police personnel. Since August 5, 2024, at least 637 people, including 41 police personnel, have been lynched in Bangladesh, according to Canada-based Global Centre for Democratic Governance's (GCDG) data carried by The Economic Times. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD For comparison, there were just 51 cases of lynchings in 2023 when Hasina was in power. ALSO READ: With Sheikh Hasina out of Bangladesh, anti-India forces rise in Bangladesh & pose major challenges Pakistan-backed groups, many of whom pursue outright Islamist extremism, have run amok in Bangladesh since the ouster of Hasina. They have waged a campaign of retribution against political opponents, particularly the workers, activists, and leaders of Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League (BAL). They have also attacked the country's minorities, particularly Hindus, whom they accused of siding with Hasina. In the past year, Hindus have been attacked in their houses, their houses have been burnt, and their temples have been attacked. Instead of making the protection of minorities' protection a priority, Yunus has presided over the state patronage of extremists, which has included acts like the release of jihadist leaders from jail. Most lynching victims were from Hasina's party Of those lynched, around 70 per cent of victims were from Hasina's BAL, local human rights bodies have said. These victims have largely been from Hindu and Ahmadiya Muslim communities, which have been a favourite target of Islamists in the country. Even though agitating groups said they were fighting for democracy, they have propped an unelected regime of Yunus with little accountability. The regime has not yet announced a date for elections and continues to run the country without any mandate from the people. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Moreover, in yet another case of democratic backsliding, Yunus has banned BAL and has presided over a campaign to remove BAL, BAL's leader Sheikh Mujibur Rehman —the father of the nation— from public consciousness.
