TEHRAN: Iranian authorities arrested two people including a government official in connection with a deadly explosion last month at the country’s main commercial port, state television reported on Sunday.
The April 26 blast at a dock in the southern port of Shahid Rajaee killed at least 57 people and injured more than 1,000, officials said, revising down an earlier death toll.
The judiciary on Sunday said the toll had been revised because “it was determined that some of the bodies considered separate were in fact one body,” adding that it could still change.
At the time of the blast, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni blamed “shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence.”
Shahid Rajaee is near Iran’s coastal city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.
“A government manager and another from the private sector have been arrested,” state television said on Sunday, citing a report from the investigating committee.
The committee announced on Monday that “false declarations (of goods) were made in some cases.”
It said on Sunday that “suspects have been identified and the summoning process is underway,” without elaborating.
The New York Times has quoted a person with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, as saying that what exploded was sodium perchlorate — a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.
Iran’s defense ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik later told state television that “there has been no imported or exported cargo for military fuel or military use in the area.”
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Two held in Iran after deadly port explosion: state TV
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Two held in Iran after deadly port explosion: state TV
- April 26 blast at a dock in the southern port of Shahid Rajaee killed at least 57 people and injured more than 1,000, officials said, revising down an earlier death toll
Iraq says it will prosecute Daesh detainees sent from Syria
- Iraq government says transfer was pre-emptive step to protect national security
- Prosoners have been held for years in prisons and camps guarded by the Kurdish-led SDF
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said on Thursday it would begin legal proceedings against Daesh detainees transferred from Syria, after the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria triggered concerns over prison security.
More than 10,000 members of the ultra-hard-line militant group have been held for years in about a dozen prisons and detention camps guarded by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria’s northeast.
The US military said on Tuesday its forces had transferred 150 Daesh detainees from Syria to Iraq and that the operation could eventually see up to 7,000 detainees moved out of Syria.
It cited concerns over security at the prisons, which also hold thousands more women and children with ties to the militant group, after military setbacks suffered by the SDF.
A US official told Reuters on Tuesday that about 200 low-level Daesh fighters escaped from Syria’s Shaddadi prison, although Syrian government forces had recaptured many of them.
Iraqi officials said Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani mentioned the transfer of Daesh prisoners to Iraq in a phone call with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa on Tuesday, adding that the transfers went ahead following a formal request by the Iraqi government to Syrian authorities.
Iraqi government spokesperson Basim Al-Awadi said the transfer was “a pre-emptive step to protect Iraq’s national security,” adding that Baghdad could not delay action given the rapid pace of security and political developments in Syria.
Daesh emerged in Iraq and Syria, and at the height of its power from 2014-2017 held swathes of the two countries. The group was defeated after a military campaign by a US-led coalition.
An Iraqi military spokesperson confirmed that Iraq had received a first batch of 150 Daesh detainees, including Iraqis and foreigners, and said the number of future transfers would depend on security and field assessments. The spokesperson described the detainees as senior figures within the group.
In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council said Iraqi courts would take “due legal measures” against the detainees once they are handed over and placed in specialized correctional facilities, citing the Iraqi constitution and criminal laws.
“All suspects, regardless of their nationalities or positions within the terrorist organization, are subject exclusively to the authority of the Iraqi judiciary,” the statement said.
Iraqi officials say under the legal measures, Daesh detainees will be separated, with senior figures including foreign nationals to be held at a high-security detention facility near Baghdad airport that was previously used by US forces.
Two Iraqi legal sources said the Daesh detainees sent from Syria include a mix of nationalities, with Iraqis making up the largest group, alongside Arab fighters from other countries as well as European and other Western nationals.
The sources said the detainees include nationals of Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and Sweden, and other European Union countries, and will be prosecuted under Iraqi jurisdiction.
More than 10,000 members of the ultra-hard-line militant group have been held for years in about a dozen prisons and detention camps guarded by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria’s northeast.
The US military said on Tuesday its forces had transferred 150 Daesh detainees from Syria to Iraq and that the operation could eventually see up to 7,000 detainees moved out of Syria.
It cited concerns over security at the prisons, which also hold thousands more women and children with ties to the militant group, after military setbacks suffered by the SDF.
A US official told Reuters on Tuesday that about 200 low-level Daesh fighters escaped from Syria’s Shaddadi prison, although Syrian government forces had recaptured many of them.
Iraqi officials said Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani mentioned the transfer of Daesh prisoners to Iraq in a phone call with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa on Tuesday, adding that the transfers went ahead following a formal request by the Iraqi government to Syrian authorities.
Iraqi government spokesperson Basim Al-Awadi said the transfer was “a pre-emptive step to protect Iraq’s national security,” adding that Baghdad could not delay action given the rapid pace of security and political developments in Syria.
Daesh emerged in Iraq and Syria, and at the height of its power from 2014-2017 held swathes of the two countries. The group was defeated after a military campaign by a US-led coalition.
An Iraqi military spokesperson confirmed that Iraq had received a first batch of 150 Daesh detainees, including Iraqis and foreigners, and said the number of future transfers would depend on security and field assessments. The spokesperson described the detainees as senior figures within the group.
In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council said Iraqi courts would take “due legal measures” against the detainees once they are handed over and placed in specialized correctional facilities, citing the Iraqi constitution and criminal laws.
“All suspects, regardless of their nationalities or positions within the terrorist organization, are subject exclusively to the authority of the Iraqi judiciary,” the statement said.
Iraqi officials say under the legal measures, Daesh detainees will be separated, with senior figures including foreign nationals to be held at a high-security detention facility near Baghdad airport that was previously used by US forces.
Two Iraqi legal sources said the Daesh detainees sent from Syria include a mix of nationalities, with Iraqis making up the largest group, alongside Arab fighters from other countries as well as European and other Western nationals.
The sources said the detainees include nationals of Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and Sweden, and other European Union countries, and will be prosecuted under Iraqi jurisdiction.
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