Satellite imagery shows scale of destruction after Iran port explosion

Some commentators and former officials say the government of Masoud Pezeshkian is unable to resolve even the simplest domestic political issues that could improve the lives of ordinary Iranians.

One example, noted by centrist politician and former presidential candidate Mostafa Hashemi-Taba, is the failure to adopt daylight saving time to help with Iran's energy crisis.

Iran's parliament recently discussed the importance of the measure, but lawmakers refused to prioritize the bill, with Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf joking that the matter would be taken up at a later date.

In an interview with the news website Rouydad24, Hashemi-Taba attributed such failures to a "lack of rationality" in governance.

"The government has no principles when it comes to addressing problems," he said, accusing officials of resorting to empty slogans instead of practical solutions, and engaging in futile debates until a new crisis diverts attention from unresolved issues.

"There is no public participation in Iran. Only a select group of people make decisions," Hashemi-Taba said.

Another stalled initiative is changing the weekend from Thursday–Friday to Saturday–Sunday to facilitate international commerce.

Despite months of debate in parliament and other government offices, the measure—deemed necessary by some economists—has been dismissed by some lawmakers with bizarre arguments.

Any weekend change, some critics have asserted, could hinder population growth, since Iranians traditionally conceive children on Thursday nights, and a Saturday–Sunday weekend would disrupt this pattern, as people would have to work on Fridays.

Meanwhile, more pressing issues, such as water and energy shortages, remain unresolved.

Tehran's freshwater resources stand at just 14% of their usual levels, according to official statistics, prompting the capital's governor to declare a water shortage emergency last week.

The government has not managed to find a solution, instead proposing to divert water from other regions—an approach that could cause shortages elsewhere.

Civil unrest erupted in the historic city of Isfahan last week, as residents took matters into their own hands by blocking the flow of water from the Zayandeh Rood River to neighboring Yazd Province.

Electricity is in short supply too, causing regular power cuts in the capital and other regions. Officials have released a blackout schedule, but people say it lacks clarity, leaving them to discover outages only when they are plunged into darkness.

"Fake experts make all the wrong decisions and prevent a minority of true experts from solving problems," prominent sociologist Taqi Azad Armaki told the news website Fararu.

The problem, Armaki argued, is that the government cannot compile or prioritize the crises it faces, as those making crucial decisions lack expertise and are disconnected from what the people want.

"The majority of our society desires peace, jobs and engagement with the world, free from constant worry," Armaki said. "This group constitutes approximately 90 percent of the population. But there is a 5-percent minority that opposes such a lifestyle.

"Those elected to parliament with the support of this minority are louder and disproportionately influential," he added. "The country's resources have been distributed unfairly and unevenly between these two groups."

Asked whether Israel should carry out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, even without American backing, 45% of Israelis believe Israel should do so and 41.5% do not.

Within the Jewish population, support for potential attacks reached 52% among proponents, with 34.5% expressing opposition. A significantly different perspective prevails among Arabs, where 76% are against the attacks and only 9% are supportive.

The data came from the April 2025 Israeli Voice Index, conducted by the Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research.

Additionally, against the backdrop of talks between the United States and Iran on the Iranian nuclear program, 45.5% of Israelis think that Israel's security will be among President Trump's main considerations, while 44% think it will not.

Last month, US President Donald Trump openly threatened to bomb Iran if it did not agree to a new nuclear deal. It has since emboldened Israel to step up its rhetoric.

Earlier this week, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said, “A real deal that works is one that removes Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons... Dismantle all the infrastructure of Iran’s nuclear program. That is a deal we can live with.”

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed the remarks on Tuesday. “Netanyahu, in a desperate attempt to avoid political extinction, has resorted to threats. These worthless tirades are not taken seriously,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after the session, Abbas Goudarzi, spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament's presiding board, said the meeting included a briefing from the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, emphasizing the Islamic Republic’s core demands in the talks.

“Iran remains committed to negotiations as long as the other side remains committed,” Goudarzi said. “Our emphasis is on peaceful domestic enrichment. Our definition may differ from the Americans; enrichment means internal production, not the import of enriched material.”

He underlined that any final deal must include the removal of sanctions, unfreezing of blocked assets, and restoration of banking ties. “These are fundamental pillars of our position,” he said.

Goudarzi added that regional issues, Iran’s defensive capabilities, and the suspension of enrichment are not open for negotiation. “The talks are strictly nuclear in scope. We reject any inspection outside of those by the International Atomic Energy Agency,” he added.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf echoed this stance, saying that the legislature’s role is supervisory. “The government must remain within the framework of the Strategic Action Law to lift sanctions and protect the Iranian nation’s interests,” he said.

The Strategic Action Law to Lift Sanctions and Safeguard the National Interests of Iran, passed in 2020 and aimed at more parliamentary influence on nuclear policy, mandated a rapid escalation of nuclear activities and a significant reduction in IAEA monitoring in reaction to the US' withdrawal from the JCPOA and the subsequent reimposition of sanctions in 2019.

Ghalibaf also addressed recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has stepped up rhetoric against Iran, dismissing the comments as attempts to influence the Iran-US talks.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu said, “A real deal that works is one that removes Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons... Dismantle all the infrastructure of Iran’s nuclear program. That is a deal we can live with.”

Ghalibaf brushed off the remarks. “Netanyahu, in a desperate attempt to avoid political extinction, has resorted to threats. These worthless tirades are not taken seriously”, he said.

Drawing attention to the alignment between US and Israel, Ghalibaf said, "The Zionist regime cannot take independent action without US permission," in spite of threats.

However, it is US President Donald Trump who has said outright that if Iran does not agree to a nuclear deal, the US will bomb Iran.

Ghalibaf also delivered a stark warning: "Should even a fraction of these threats be executed, Iran’s response will be decisive. Any aggression would be akin to igniting a powder keg, putting not just the Zionist regime, but all US bases in the region squarely in the crosshairs of Iranian retaliation."

“They had to rescue Assad,” Netanyahu said, adding that Iran wanted to send “one or two airborne divisions” to help the Syrian leader.

“We stopped that. We sent some F-16s to some Iranian planes that were making some routes to Damascus,” he said. “They turned back.”

Netanyahu made the announcement on Sunday in a speech which revealed insights into the country’s role in the fall of the long-time ruler, who was overthrown by insurgents in December.

At a Jewish News Syndicate conference, he said that Tehran sought to bolster Assad's position, especially after Hezbollah, a major ally in Lebanon, sustained considerable losses during last year's conflict with Israel.

Targeted airstrikes decimated Hezbollah's leadership, killing scores of top figures, including its long-time head Hassan Nasrallah, and obliterating extensive infrastructure both above and below ground.

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.