Deadly blast in Iran will not derail negotiations, lawmaker says

Resolving the wide-ranging disputes between the United States and Iran will require days of intensive negotiations, political analyst and journalist Omid Memarian told Iran International on Sunday.

Memarian said Iran seeks the full removal of US oil and banking sanctions, but Washington has conditioned any lifting of sanctions on Tehran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — a demand the Islamic Republic has so far resisted.

"Verification and access by the IAEA to Iran’s nuclear activities remain major points of contention," Memariansaid, adding that while US officials are pressing for more comprehensive inspections, Iranian authorities continue to impose restrictions on the agency's monitoring efforts.

An Iranian parliamentarian accused Israel of orchestrating the deadly explosion at Bandar Abbas’s Rajaei port, according to remarks published Sunday by Rokna News.

Mohammad Seraj, a Tehran MP, said that explosives were pre-planted in containers and detonated remotely, possibly via satellite or timer.

"This event was not accidental," Seraj added. He dismissed natural fire as a cause and linked the incident to broader Israeli efforts to disrupt Iran’s international relations.

Seraj compared the attack to the Beirut port explosion but said damage was contained due to better management. No independent evidence has been presented supporting his comments.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik told state media, "There were no imported or exported shipments related to military use or rocket fuel at the site of the incident," dismissing foreign media reports as psychological operations.

“Investigations and evidence confirm that no imported or exported cargo for fuel or military applications was present within the fire-stricken area or Shahid Rajaei port. Certain foreign media outlets are engaging in targeted sensationalism aligned with enemy psychological operations,” he said.

The remarks come following reports that the massive blast -- which killed at least 28 people and injured more than 1,000 -- was linked to the storage of sodium perchlorate, a chemical used in the production of solid rocket fuel.

While the exact cause remains undetermined, a source close to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told the New York Times that sodium perchlorate -- a precursor chemical used to make ammonium perchlorate, an important component in solid rocket fuel -- was the likely cause of the explosion.

Investigations into the cause of the blast are ongoing, Iranian officials said, adding that the Ministry of Interior and disaster management authorities are leading the probe. Authorities pledged to publicly disclose findings once the investigation concludes.

Earlier this year, shipping data tracked by The Maritime Executive indicated that two vessels owned by the US-sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) — the MV Golbon and MV Jairan — transported sodium perchlorate from China to Bandar Abbas in February and March.

The chemical is later processed at facilities such as Parchin and Khojir in Iran’s solid-fueled ballistic missile programs.

It remains unclear whether the containers from the shipments were still stored at the Sina container terminal at the time of the blast or if they played a role in the explosion.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged a wounded survivor of the explosion to remain optimistic during a hospital visit on Sunday, Iranian media reported.

"If I were in your place, I would get up and leave the hospital," Pezeshkian told the patient in a video widely circulated online.

Pezeshkian arrived in Bandar Abbas earlier Sunday to oversee the response to the deadly blast at Rajaei port.

At least 36 people were killed in the Rajaei port explosion, a member of Iran’s parliament said Sunday, citing forensic data.

Mohammad Jamalian, from the parliamentary health committee, told ILNA news agency that 18 victims had been identified, while severe burns made DNA testing necessary for the rest.

Jamalian said 1,241 people were injured, with 994 discharged and 240 still hospitalized, including 37 in intensive care. Five patients suffered severe burns and six were transferred elsewhere. He added that some of the unidentified remains may belong to missing persons.

The figures provided by this member of parliament regarding the number of victims, especially the fatalities, have not yet been announced or confirmed by any other official authority or the Crisis Management Headquarters.