Shahid Rajaei Port Customs: Imported Shipment That Exploded Was Not in Customs’ Possession
Shahid Rajaei Port Customs stated in remarks: “For the imported shipment that exploded, no reports or declarations were submitted to customs.”
According to customs law regarding the import and export of shipments into the country, any shipment entering a customs port must first have its cargo information submitted to that port, and then the cargo owner must declare the shipment and its type to customs so that, upon issuance of an eight-digit code, customs procedures and cargo clearance can begin.
Shahid Rajaei Port Customs stated in remarks to ISNA news agency: “The imported shipment that entered the port on Saturday and suffered a massive explosion and fire has no cottage number or declaration indicating it was reported to customs, and this vessel and its cargo were not in customs’ possession.”
There is no information available about where and when the shipment was imported into Shahid Rajaei Port, what type of materials comprised the cargo, or which vessel brought this shipment. “Mortaza Mahmoudi,” one of the members of the parliamentary delegation sent to the scene, also spoke of “false declarations” regarding the exploded shipment.
He stated in this regard: “False declarations were made in the transfer of cargo and containers at Shahid Rajaei Port and their transfer to warehouses that were meant for storing non-hazardous goods, a matter being investigated by security, law enforcement, and judicial authorities. Serious negligence and oversight is the main reason for this explosion, and the possibility of intentional sabotage in this incident is very low.”
Some of the cargo discovered after extinguishing the fire were small incendiary capsules that magnified the force of the explosion. Speculation suggests that the shipment in question was “solid rocket fuel” which, due to improper handling, led to the explosion and fire.
One source close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated in this regard: “The substance that exploded was sodium perchlorate, one of the main components of solid rocket fuel,” but “Reza Talainik,” spokesman for the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Defense, has denied this claim.
Recent reports indicate that three days after the explosion, not only has the main cause of the explosion still not been determined, but the fire has also not been completely extinguished, and trucks are exploding and burning one after another.
Some eyewitnesses have published videos on social media showing that many people present at the explosion site, who appear to have been truck drivers carrying cargo and customs personnel, were thrown into the air with each explosion and then fell. The bodies of many of them have still not been found, and in some places, only charred and unidentifiable skeletal remains have been left.
