Iranian authorities announced on Sunday a revised casualty figure from the April 26 explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, reducing the official death toll from 70 to 57, Xinhua reported.
The updated number includes 46 individuals whose bodies have been identified, while 11 remain unaccounted for.
Hormozgan province’s Chief Justice, Mojtaba Qahremani, stated the adjustment followed detailed forensic analysis. “Some of the body parts that had initially been considered as belonging to separate individuals were found to be from the same victims,” he explained. A dedicated task force has been formed to continue efforts to identify the missing.
Separately, state television reported that two suspects, including a government official, have been detained in connection with the blast.
The explosion, which sparked a large-scale fire, left over 1,200 injured, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.
Investigators are focusing on failures in safety compliance. A statement from Hormozgan’s crisis management team cited deficiencies in safety protocols and passive defense standards. Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni noted “certain negligence” in remarks delivered last week.
An Iranian MP, Mohammad Seraj, last week accused Israel of orchestrating the deadly explosion, claiming that explosives were pre-planted in containers and detonated remotely, possibly via satellite or timer.
However, he failed to provide proof of his claims.