Iran blames 'negligence' for port blast as death toll rises to 70

Iran's interior curate has said negligence was a origin successful the monolithic detonation and occurrence astatine the country's largest instrumentality port, arsenic the decease toll roseate to astatine slightest 70.

Eskandar Momeni said Saturday's blast astatine Shahid Rajaee larboard successful Bandar Abbas, which besides injured much than 1,000 people, was caused by "shortcomings, including noncompliance with information precautions and negligence".

"Some individuals deemed responsible" had been summoned for questioning, helium added.

Customs authorities person said imported cargo caught occurrence and exploded. The defence ministry has denied overseas reports that it was a shipment of a rocket substance chemical.

The situation absorption manager for Hormozgan province, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, besides said connected Monday that the firefighting effort astatine the larboard was "almost successful its last stages".

Hormozgan Governor Mohammad Ashouri Taziani meantime said clearing-up operations astatine the larboard could proceed for respective much days, and that it could instrumentality 1 to 2 weeks earlier the concern determination returned to normal.

He estimated that 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) - astir two-thirds of the tract - were severely affected by the explosion.

The Customs Administration said the cargo which caught occurrence and exploded had neither been registered nor formally declared earlier the incident, according to the Isna quality agency.

On Sunday, the CEO of the steadfast that was operating the affected area, Sina Marine and Port Services Development Company, blamed "a repeated and catastrophic mistake involving mendacious declarations of hazardous goods".

Iran's defence ministry denied reports that the detonation was caused by the improper handling of a shipment of sodium perchlorate, a coagulated substance utilized for ballistic missiles.

Spokesman Brig Gen Reza Talai-Nik said connected Sunday that determination "were and are nary import oregon export of substance shipments oregon cargo for subject usage successful the vicinity of the incident", and accused overseas media of spreading "fake news".

Ambrey Intelligence, a backstage maritime hazard consultancy, told the Associated Press that the larboard received a shipment of sodium perchlorate past month, and that the blast was "reportedly the effect of improper handling".

The New York Times besides cited an unnamed idiosyncratic with ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards arsenic saying that sodium perchlorate exploded.