‘Realistic possibility’ Israel was behind Iran blast which killed 8 and injured 800 | World | News

Israel was probably behind the huge blast in Iran which killed eight people and injured 800. The explosion at Bandar Abbas occurred as the Islamic regime began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman. But its target is thought to have been a store of rocket fuel imported from China and bound for Yemen.

Authorities in Tehran moved quickly to deny any implication of sabotage, officially explaining that the accident was caused by a small fire which reached an “open container of chemicals”. Videos showed a huge billowing mushroom cloud, and the force of the blast destroyed a nearby building and shattered windows. Injured people lay on the roadside as authorities declared a state of emergency at hospitals across Bandar Abbas to cope with the influx of wounded.

However, early analysis suggests the explosion may have destroyed between 10,000 and 50,000 litres of liquid rocket fuel or related volatile propellants – a significant blow to Iran’s proxy supply chains.

Iran has increasingly relied on covert imports of rocket fuel components from China to bypass sanctions, with typical shipments delivering up to 20,000–25,000 litres per ISO tank container disguised as industrial chemicals.

Tel Aviv, for its part, has a history of targeting Iran’s rocket fuel facilities through suspected sabotage attacks. The most notable examples are the Khojir explosion of June 2020 and the Parchin site blast of May 2022.

Most analysts suspect the Khojir attack involved planting a shaped explosive charge inside or adjacent to a critical fuel storage or mixing facility, causing catastrophic secondary explosions. Both attacks were designed to resemble accidents, and both dealt major blows to Iran’s missile propellant capabilities.

Bandar Abbas serves as a key logistics hub for smuggling operations, including the type of liquid propellant used in Iranian ballistic missiles and larger drones sent to the regime’s last fully functioning proxy force – Ansar Allah, better known as the Houthi rebels.

Iranian security officials say “any speculation about the cause of the explosion is worthless”.

However, the regime’s silence may be a calculated attempt not to upset the United States, as Tehran seeks desperately needed sanctions relief through a new nuclear deal.

Donald Trump has already launched air strikes in Yemen in response to Houthi efforts to hold international shipping on the Red Sea to ransom, in protest against Israeli actions in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the US President is currently embroiled in a bitter trade war with China.

Israel, meanwhile, had become increasingly frustrated at the possibility that US-Iran talks could leave Tehran with a functioning nuclear infrastructure. It has, futhermore, been forced to refrain from launching direct air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities by Trump, who has indicated he wants to wait until the talks are concluded.

Regional experts at the Sibylline strategic risk group said there was “a realistic possibility that the explosion is a result of sabotage by a state actor,” though they did not specify Israel by name.

“In case of Iranian authorities blaming Israel, the risk of Iranian covert attacks in the form of kinetic sabotage or cyber attacks against Israeli and Israeli-affiliated targets will increase in the coming weeks,” they said in a report on the incident.

“However, Iran is currently unlikely to openly target the US, to avoid a breakdown of nuclear talks and US strikes against it.”