Israel expected to act alone if it strikes Iran during US nuclear talks - AP

An official customs agent said the explosion at Iran’s Shahid Rajaei port was foreseeable and blamed poor infrastructure and container congestion for the deadly incident, which he said killed at least 200 people.

Teimour Bahengam, who was present at the port during the blast, told local media that outdated equipment, oil leaks, and a buildup of over 200,000 containers created dangerous conditions. “This explosion was predictable,” he said. “The machinery is old, the ground is contaminated, and safety protocols are lacking.”

The blast occurred around 12:05 p.m. in the Sina terminal area of the port, shattering windows and sending debris flying across the customs zone. “Nothing was left intact,” Bahengam said, describing doors and windows blown out as far as two kilometers from the site.

Authorities have not confirmed an official death toll. Bahengam said more than 17 bodies were recovered from a single container, and added that at least 200 people were killed. “The blood of each of them is on the government’s hands,” he said.

He also criticized delays in customs processing and currency allocation, which he said had contributed to overcrowding and mismanagement at the port.

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Abdoljalil Eiri, a member of Iran’s parliament and part of the investigative team dispatched to Rajaei port, warned that “there are concerns about the possibility of similar incidents in other ports across the country,” following last week's deadly explosion in Bandar Abbas.

The MP said the fire at the country’s largest container port was made worse by malfunctioning emergency systems. “The fire hydrants did not work properly in the first minutes of the incident, and this prevented the blaze from being contained in time,” Eiri said.

He cited “management and infrastructure weaknesses, especially in firefighting equipment,” as playing a major role in the disaster and said those failings are being examined in a report to be read in parliament.

He emphasized that a full and documented investigation is still underway: “Until detailed and documented reports are provided, we cannot definitively judge the causes of the incident.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his country supports the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program, and emphasized Iraq's balanced ties with both nations.

"Iraq has good relations with both Iran and the United States," Sudani said in an interview with US broadcaster Tim Constantine.

He also said Baghdad was not just a host of the upcoming Arab League summit but would act as a proactive player in seeking solutions for regional crises.

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A senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official said Iran’s missile technology continues to advance without interruption, despite Western support for Israel.

“The development of Iran’s missile technology is progressing without pause,” said Brigadier General Ali Balali, senior adviser to the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, according to state media.

Balali also said that Western military support for Israel “failed to block the success of Iran’s missile operations,” in an apparent reference to Tehran’s missile attacks on Israeli territory last year.

Speaking to students in northeast Iran, Balali said the country remains committed to strengthening both its missile and space programs through domestic knowledge.

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A manager at Sina Marine and Port Services said the company bears no blame for the deadly explosion at Iran’s Shahid Rajaei port last week, which killed at least 70 people and injured hundreds more.

“It was a terrible incident, but our company had no responsibility,” the HR manager told mourners at a funeral for one of the victims, according to footage published by Iranian media. “In our section, 25 were injured, 10 confirmed dead, and six are still missing.”

The manager added that three employees — two women and a man with three children — were among the dead or missing. “We were right next to the blast point. All we saw was rubble and bloodied faces,” he said.

“Many companies were present at the site,” he added, declining to speculate on the cause. “It must be examined by experts.”

The April 26 blast at Bandar Abbas’s Shahid Rajaei port destroyed the Sina yard, a large container terminal operated by Sina Marine, a subsidiary of the US-sanctioned Mostazafan Foundation, which is overseen by Iran’s Supreme Leader and has close ties to the IRGC.