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28 killed and more than 750 injured in Rajaei Port explosion in Iran

Jubin Katiraie
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28 killed and more than 750 injured in Rajaei Port explosion in Iran

On Saturday, April 26, around 12:30 PM local time, a massive explosion rocked Rajaei Port, southern Iran.

Pirhossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian regime’s Red Crescent Society, announced that the death toll from the Rajaei Port explosion had risen to twenty-eight.

He said that twenty people are currently hospitalized in intensive care units. Kolivand estimated the number of injured to be one thousand.

Explosion at Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas Leaves Over 700 Injured and 5 Death

Mohammadreza Rezaei Kochi, head of the Civil Commission of Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), told state-run ILNA news agency: “Accurate investigations have not been completed yet, but it is estimated that more than ten thousand containers have been destroyed.”

He pointed out the lack of warehouse standards at Rajaei Port, stating that regulations regarding the placement of containers had not been observed, the spacing between them did not meet standards, and proper separation based on cargo type had not been implemented.

Rezaei Kochi added: “We had anticipated that firefighting operations would conclude in about two more hours (around 3 PM) on Sunday, but several containers caught fire due to high heat, which spread the blaze to other containers.” According to him, a new part of the port is now engulfed in flames.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), expressed her condolences to the families of the victims of this incident and held the Iranian regime fully responsible for this human tragedy.

With this explosion and the subsequent halt of port operations, fifty-seven percent of the country’s nominal unloading and loading capacity has effectively become unavailable.

This port does not play a significant role in the trade of essential goods, but it holds a special position in the handling of petroleum products.

The Associated Press, quoting the maritime security company Ambrey, reported that the explosions at Rajaei Port in Bandar Abbas were caused by the mishandling of a shipment of solid fuel used in ballistic missiles.

According to Ambrey, the port had received a shipment of missile fuel, specifically sodium perchlorate, in March. This fuel was part of a cargo that, according to a Financial Times report in January, had been sent from China to Iran by two ships.

According to the report, the mentioned fuel was intended for the replenishment of the Iranian regime’s missile stockpiles.

Ambrey, citing its sources, stated that the fire broke out following the improper handling of this solid fuel shipment. Ship tracking data analyzed by the Associated Press indicated that one of the vessels suspected of carrying these chemicals was present near the mentioned port in March.

 

The life of political prisoner Kamran Rezaeifar is in danger.

Esmaeil Mohades
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The life of political prisoner Kamran Rezaeifar is in danger.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) issued a statement on April 25, 2025, regarding political prisoner Kamran Rezaeifar. The statement reads:

“The henchmen of Khamenei are preventing the transfer of political prisoner Kamran Rezaei-Far, who is suffering from malignant stomach cancer to a hospital and blocking his hospitalization. Hedayat Farzadi, the criminal head of Evin Prison, is obstructing Kamran’s access to urgent and necessary medical care. He has been grappling with death for months and is enduring debilitating pain.”

Kamran Rezaeifar had been diagnosed with a stomach illness since November 2024. However, due to the authorities’ refusal to transfer him to a hospital, his condition worsened into malignant cancer. In a delayed surgery, part of his stomach and pancreas were removed. Without undergoing proper recovery and necessary post-operative medical care, he was returned to prison immediately after the operation. Subsequently, he developed a pulmonary embolism while in prison, and now he has blood clots in his lungs.

According to specialists, Kamran must undergo chemotherapy, but Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, the prosecutor’s office, and the head of Evin Prison are preventing his release or transfer to a hospital.

Kamran Rezaeifar, sixty years old, was arrested in September 2023 and sentenced to five years in prison on charges of connection with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The NCRI called upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur, and all international human rights organizations “to take immediate action for the release of political prisoners, especially sick prisoners. Torturing prisoners to death by depriving them of medical care—a well-documented practice of the clerical regime—is a clear example of a crime against humanity.”

The pressure against political prisoners comes at a time when Iran’s regime has executed twenty-two people between April 21 and April 23. Out of fear of an explosion of public anger, the regime has unprecedentedly accelerated the pace of executions.

These executions are taking place while Western governments are engaged in negotiations with Iran’s regime. The ruling mullahs are attempting to suppress potential uprisings and protests by resorting to executions and acts of brutality.

The dire economic conditions, along with the repression, torture, and execution of dissidents by the regime, have pushed Iran to the brink of a nationwide uprising, and Iran’s regime is desperately trying to contain the situation.

 

Explosion at Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas Leaves Over 700 Injured and 5 Death

Hoshang Amiri
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Explosion at Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas Leaves Over 700 Injured and 5 Death

On Saturday, April 25, a powerful explosion at the facilities of Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas caused heavy tremors across the city and surrounding areas. According to state-controlled media, the intensity of the explosion was such that the sound was heard for several kilometers and the ground shook.

According to the regime’s Director General of Crisis Management for Hormozgan Province, the number of those injured in the explosion at Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas has surpassed seven hundred, with the possibility of the casualty count increasing.

It is reported that so far, five people have been killed in this incident.

Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported quoting Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, the Director General of Crisis Management of Hormozgan Province, that all the injured have been transferred to hospitals across Bandar Abbas.

State television reported that multiple other explosions were also heard from the port, and thick smoke has engulfed the area’s sky. Local witnesses reported shattered windows in buildings within several kilometers and feeling the ground shaking.

Hossein Zafari, spokesperson for the regime’s crisis management organization, confirmed that the explosion was powerful enough for the ground tremors to be felt within a fifty-kilometer radius.

According to government reports, the site of the incident was part of the Sina container yard, affiliated with Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization. Reports suggest that the explosion was caused by the storage of hazardous goods and chemicals, though the exact cause is still under investigation. Tasnim News Agency also raised the possibility that the explosion may have involved a fuel tank or sensitive petroleum products.

Less than a month prior to the explosion at Rajaee Port, reports had surfaced about the arrival of a vessel named “Jeyran” at the port; this ship was accused of transporting components related to the Iranian regime’s missile program from China to Iran.

On March 31, Newsweek, quoting the Maritime Executive website, reported that the cargo ship JAIRAN, which has been sanctioned by the United States, docked at Bandar Abbas after departing from China and was suspected of carrying chemical materials used in the production of solid-fuel missiles.

Paraguay designates IRGC as a terrorist organization

Jubin Katiraie
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Paraguay designates IRGC as a terrorist organization

On April 25, 2025, Santiago Peña, the President of Paraguay, announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that his country has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. He emphasized that Paraguay has expanded the scope of its terrorist list to include all branches and sectors of Hezbollah and Hamas. In addition, the IRGC was added due to its systematic violations of peace, human rights, and international security.

This decision by Paraguay was welcomed by the U.S. Department of State. In a statement issued on this occasion, it was declared that Iran’s regime is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, and through the IRGC Quds Force and its proxy groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, it has financed and directed numerous terrorist attacks and activities globally.

The IRGC and Hezbollah’s presence in Latin America

The IRGC and Hezbollah have had a long-standing presence in Latin America, especially in the Tri-Border Area between Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. This region, due to weak legal oversight and the presence of Arab diaspora communities, has become a favorable ground for illicit activities. Hezbollah has been present in this region since the 1980s and has been involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, and financing terrorist operations. For example, in 2002, reports emerged about open Hezbollah activities in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. In recent years, U.S. and Paraguayan authorities have succeeded in identifying and dismantling cocaine trafficking networks linked to Hezbollah in this region.

Disarming Hezbollah: A Crippling Blow to Iranian Regime

In addition, the IRGC has been active in Latin America through its Quds Force. For instance, in 2022, a Boeing 747 cargo plane crewed by Iranians and Venezuelans landed in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. This flight was seen as part of an air bridge between Iran and Venezuela, used to transport senior regime officials, intelligence agents, and weapons under the cover of passenger or cargo flights.

Consequences of Paraguay’s decision

Paraguay’s designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization reflects growing international concerns over Iran’s activities and its proxy groups in Latin America. This move could strengthen regional cooperation in countering terrorism and organized crime and exert further pressure on Iran’s regime to stop supporting terrorist groups.

 

Disarming Hezbollah: A Crippling Blow to Iranian Regime

Sia Rajabi
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Disarming Hezbollah: A Crippling Blow to Iranian Regime

The official summoning and reprimand of Iran’s regime ambassador in Lebanon by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs—over his comments on Hezbollah’s disarmament—marks a major shift in Lebanon’s political landscape and a potentially decisive transformation in the regional balance of power. Hezbollah has long served as one of the most important proxy arms of the regime, and implementing a plan to disarm it would be a strategic blow to Tehran.

In recent weeks, multiple reports have surfaced about mounting internal and external pressures to disarm Hezbollah. From the explicit stance of Joseph Aoun, the President of Lebanon, to the repeated insistence of the United States on the necessity of arms being exclusively in the hands of the official Lebanese government, all signs indicate the beginning of a seemingly irreversible process.

Syria, Hezbollah, and Iran’s Regime Obstructed Lebanese Reconciliation for Years

Hezbollah is not merely a paramilitary group but a central pillar of Iran’s regime’s regional policy. From Syria to Iraq and Yemen, Tehran’s regional influence has largely relied on proxies like Hezbollah. Within this framework, Lebanon has consistently served as a key strategic outpost for the regime—both in confronting Israel and in exerting control over Lebanon’s internal political affairs.

At a time when Tehran is entangled in deep internal crises, international sanctions, and drawn-out negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program, the elimination of one of its most crucial foreign levers would amount to structural damage to the regime.

The recent remarks by the regime’s ambassador in Beirut—who initially called Hezbollah’s disarmament a “conspiracy” in a tweet, only to later walk it back by labeling it a “domestic Lebanese matter”—are themselves evidence of growing pressure on the regime to retreat from its interventionist stance in Lebanon. The repeated summons of the regime’s ambassador by Lebanon’s foreign ministry is a clear sign of the country’s political space opening up to challenge Hezbollah’s role and influence, and by extension, that of the Iranian regime.

These developments come as Hezbollah has lost a significant portion of its legitimacy in Lebanon in recent years—particularly following the Beirut port explosion, the deepening economic crisis, and its failure to provide solutions for the public’s hardship. A large segment of Lebanese society has now concluded that disarming Hezbollah and restoring military authority to the state are prerequisites for any form of national stability and progress.

In the current balance of power, disarming Hezbollah appears to be an inevitable and logical outcome. This shift is not happening through war, but rather through Hezbollah’s own political and social erosion, and the transformation of Lebanon’s internal dynamics. Just as Syria is no longer the regime’s former maneuvering ground, Lebanon too is gradually breaking free from Tehran’s proxy control.

For a regime that sits at the negotiation table while carrying out mass executions in the streets of Tehran out of fear of popular uprising, Hezbollah’s disarmament is just one more sign of its decline—not only across the region but within its own power structure.

 

Amnesty International Warns of Imminent Executions of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani After Unfair Trials in Iran

Jubin Katiraie
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Amnesty International Warns of Imminent Executions of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani After Unfair Trials in Iran

Amnesty International is deeply concerned that Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani are at risk of execution in Ghezel Hesar Prison following the rejection of their second appeal.

Amnesty International stated that it is deeply concerned that Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani face execution in Ghezel Hesar Prison following the rejection of their second appeal.

Amnesty International emphasized that global action is now needed and called on Iran’s regime to halt any plans to carry out the executions.

Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani are at imminent risk of execution after an extremely unfair trial tainted by torture and other ill-treatment used to extract “forced confessions.”

Iranian authorities must stop their execution and release them immediately.

Iranian Regime’s Contradictory Justifications for Executing Political Opponents 

According to Amnesty International, Mehdi Hassani said that the Supreme Court of Iran’s regime rejected his lawyer’s request to appeal the death sentence issued by the lower court.

Amnesty International also reported that the second judicial appeal filed by Behrouz Ehsani’s lawyer has likewise been rejected.

Amnesty International released further details of the shocking and severe violations of fair trial rights in the cases of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, including allegations of torture and their extremely unfair five-minute trial held in September 2024 in the regime’s Revolutionary Court.

 

Dutch Intelligence: Iran’s Regime Likely Ordered the Assassination of Alejo Vidal-Quadras

Hoshang Amiri
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Dutch Intelligence: Iran’s Regime Likely Ordered the Assassination of Alejo Vidal-Quadras

The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), in its annual report published in April, accused Iran’s regime of attempting to assassinate an Iranian activist residing in the city of Haarlem.

This incident occurred in June 2024, when two men attempted to enter the home of this Iranian dissident via the balcony at midnight. Thanks to his quick call to the police, the two individuals were arrested. According to the AIVD report, during the operation, these individuals were in contact via phone with a third person, who appeared to be directing the operation remotely.

One of the suspects, Mehrez Ayari, a 38-year-old Tunisian national, had previously been wanted for his connections to criminal networks and for his failed assassination attempt on Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a Spanish politician and critic of the Iranian regime, in Madrid in November 2023. Ayari was also under investigation for the murder of a drug dealer in France in 2022.

Arrest of Suspect in Shooting of Spanish Politician Supporting Iranian Opposition

The failed attack on this Spanish politician follows a pattern that Iran’s regime has used for years: employing criminal networks in Europe to silence its opponents.

The Iranian regime uses a time-tested method that makes legal proof of its involvement in issuing orders extremely difficult.

The Dutch intelligence agency emphasized in its report that Tehran uses criminal networks to target its dissidents in Europe. These methods include using non-Iranian individuals to carry out assassination operations, allowing the regime to deny any involvement.

In response to this report, Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp summoned Iran’s ambassador. This is the first time in recent years that Dutch officials have publicly accused a foreign country of planning a targeted attack on Dutch soil. Previously, in 2019, two Iranian diplomats were expelled from the Netherlands over similar allegations.

During 2015 and 2017, Dutch intelligence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained silent for years, a stance that led to dissatisfaction among much of the Iranian community in the Netherlands and members of the Dutch Parliament. This closed approach has now changed.

The Iranian diaspora in the Netherlands has repeatedly called for greater protection.

Since 2022, the Dutch Parliament has called for the establishment of a National Reporting Center to address threats and intimidation against migrants. This plan has not yet been launched, but the current government intends to start a pilot program by the end of this year.

 

Iran’s Regime Executes 22 People in 3 Days

Mehdi Hosseini
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Iran’s Regime Executes 22 People in 3 Days

Between April 21 and 23, the Iranian regime executed at least 22 prisoners across various cities in the country—a shocking figure that translates to one execution every three and a half hours.

These daily executions, carried out in prisons such as Ghezel Hesar, Yazd, Arak, Hamedan, and Gonabad, were on various charges—often vague and lacking judicial transparency. At their core, however, they carry a message from the regime’s leadership: the continuation of power through intimidation.

As the political atmosphere in the country is shaped by a new round of negotiations between the Iranian regime and the United States—recently held in Rome—the widespread wave of executions can be seen as a panicked reaction by the regime, driven by fear of social fracture and the eruption of public discontent.

Iran: Brutal Surge in Executions Amid Worsening Political Crisis

In Iran under the rule of the mullahs, execution has never merely been a judicial tool. It has always served as a political instrument to control public space, intimidate social activists, and suppress protest movements.

According to human rights organizations, many of these executions are carried out without fair trials, involving torture and forced confessions, and are executed under a media blackout.

Negotiations and Assassinations: Two Intersecting Pillars of Khamenei’s Policy

Notably, this wave of executions is occurring simultaneously with a new round of negotiations between Iran and the U.S., which are officially aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program and possibly returning to a form of agreement.

Historical precedent shows that the Iranian regime consistently ramps up security crackdowns and executions before or during sensitive negotiations—to demonstrate internal “power” and send a message to its counterpart. This two-pronged tactic is meant not only to deter domestic dissent but also to signal to the outside world: “We still hold power!”

The unprecedented acceleration of executions must be seen as part of an expensive—yet ultimately failed—strategy. The Iranian regime is intensifying this policy while facing a legitimacy and structural crisis at home and increasing international scrutiny abroad.

Iranian society, beyond the negotiations between the West and the regime, stands on the verge of a profound transformation.

 

Maryam Akbari Monfared Faces Paralysis as Iranian Regime Blocks Treatment

Sia Rajabi
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Maryam Akbari Monfared Faces Paralysis as Iranian Regime Blocks Treatment

Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner and supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), who has spent over sixteen years in prisons under Iran’s regime, is now facing severe health deterioration in Qarchak Prison in Varamin. Despite her critical condition, judicial and prison authorities have completely neglected her need for urgent medical treatment.

According to sources close to her family, Maryam Akbari Monfared suffers from several illnesses including hypothyroidism, liver complications, and chronic pain in her back and knees, and her condition has reached an alarming stage. The source stated that five medical specialists—including a neurosurgeon, an orthopedic surgeon, and forensic medical experts—have all emphasized the need for “immediate surgery on her back and knees.”

Nevertheless, not only has the treatment process not started, but even her medical requests and follow-ups by her lawyer have received no clear response. According to the source: “Maryam has repeatedly experienced numbness in her legs and impaired knee mobility in recent months. Doctors have warned that this may lead to spinal cord damage and even incontinence.”

Political Prisoner and PMOI Supporter Maryam Akbari Monfared Transferred to New Prison

Maryam Akbari Monfared is the only political prisoner in Qarchak Prison who is held among inmates with common criminal charges, in violation of the principle of separation of crimes. In a new case opened against her, charges such as “spreading false information” and “propaganda against the state” have been brought charges frequently used by the regime to silence dissent. This is while her fifteen-year prison sentence has already ended, and these accusations have been made while she is still behind bars.

Prison authorities have even made her lawyer’s visit conditional upon “official approval from a judge”—a discriminatory practice applied only to political prisoners.

Maryam Akbari Monfared, who has spent a large part of her life in prison for seeking justice for the victims of the 1980s executions (which took place during the 1980s in the Iranian calendar, equivalent to the 1980s-1990s Gregorian years), now faces a serious threat to her life.

On December 28, 2022, she wrote from Semnan Prison:
“If you ask me how I endured the darkness of torture and the exhaustion of time, I’ll say it was the wild flame of faith in my heart that kept me standing.
In the solitude and with empty hands, this warm and defiant flame is the very thing interrogators try to snatch from the prisoner from the moment of arrest… so that their spirit freezes and yields to subjugation… But for thirteen years, I kept it burning with sacred rage from the tortures I witnessed and endured. I laughed and spread that laughter so that I and we could stand tall. Because resistance is the heart of us.
Faith in the path my brothers and sisters gave their lives for, faith in the road I stepped on, and faith in the clenched fists and firm steps of the youth who now stand in the streets with their bodies and souls against dictatorship…”

On August 6, 2022, on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran, which included two of Maryam Akbari’s siblings, she wrote:
“There is no escape from justice… I have vowed not to rest until every single person who ordered or carried out the massacre of our loved ones is brought to trial… Our wounds are still fresh—not thirty years have passed, not even three days for us!
We have risen to seek justice so that no other family will have to mourn again, and we insist on justice.
The dawn of justice will shine through the dark and stormy clouds, and on that day, we will feel love with all our hearts. Victory is ours.”

Political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared was arrested in Tehran on December 31, 2009.

Two of Maryam Akbari Monfared’s brothers, Gholamreza and Alireza Akbari Monfared, were executed in 1981 and 1984 respectively, on charges of affiliation and support for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Her younger brother, Abdolreza Akbari Monfared, and her sister, Roghieh Akbari Monfared, were also executed during the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988.

 

Former Iranian Regime MP: The country’s situation is disastrous and dangerous

Esmaeil Mohades
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Former Iranian Regime MP: The country’s situation is disastrous and dangerous

Javad Arianmanesh, a former member of Iran’s regime Majlis (parliament), warned about the “disastrous” state of Iran’s economic and social conditions and expressed concern over the regime’s anxiety regarding the “dangerous situation.” He also attributed the causes of the January 2018 protests to the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, emphasizing that the “entire system” has become “indifferent” to hardliners.

Arianmanesh, a conservative MP from 2004 to 2012, in an interview with Jamaran website—affiliated with the family of Ruhollah Khomeini—stated that currently “the popular base of the hardliner movement” is shrinking rapidly, and even religious ideologies can no longer connect the people to that movement.

He described the country’s situation as “critical” and, referring to the Iranian year 1404 (beginning March 21, 2025), which marks the final year of the regime’s 20-year development plan, said: “We were supposed to be the top economic and military power in the region by now, but the country’s situation in all economic, social, and other areas is extremely disastrous.”

The former MP from Mashhad and Kalat spoke about the roots of the January 2018 protests, saying: “In such conditions, any kind of gathering or protest can harm the country and pave the way for larger unrest. Just like in 1396 (January 2018), when a radical faction initiated a protest but later lost control, leading to extensive financial and human losses.”

Protesting Retirees in Cities Across Iran Chant Slogans Against Regime Officials

According to parts of both conservative and reformist factions within Iran’s regime, the January 2018 protests were sparked by Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad.

In an August 2018 interview with the same website, the former Majlis Member criticized the Mashhad Friday prayer leader, stating: “The country is suffering from a series of economic crises that are hurting the people—issues like poverty, corruption, discrimination, inequality, rising inflation, skyrocketing prices, declining purchasing power, currency devaluation, and many more economic problems… The clergy, religious figures, and Friday prayer leaders should represent unity, cohesion, and problem-solving. The representative of the Supreme Leader (Iran’s regime head, Ali Khamenei) has such high-level access that there is no need to mobilize people into the streets to chant slogans.”

Since the third quarter of 2024, current and former officials of Iran’s regime have repeatedly warned about mounting public discontent and the potential for widespread protests.

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the former interior minister of the regime and one of its highest-ranking security officials during the nationwide protests of November 2019, warned on February 7, 2025, that public dissatisfaction is growing. He cautioned the administration of current regime president Masoud Pezeshkian, describing the present situation as “much more concerning” than that of November 2019.

Arianmanesh believes that both international and regional conditions have become more sensitive, and that domestic shortages and imbalances have fueled growing societal discontent. He said Iran’s regime is concerned that the situation may lead to widespread protests.

The former MP said: “It seems even senior figures within the hardliner faction, who have always tried to exploit every situation for partisan gain, are now worried that any irrational move could cause them to lose control of the situation—especially since the regime’s broader indifference toward them has led them to pull back somewhat.”

He emphasized: “In any case, the regime has now reached a dangerous stage, and aside from rational thinking and revising its misguided policies, it has no other path forward.”

The people have moved beyond reformists and conservatives

Arianmanesh confirmed that the public no longer trusts either conservatives or reformists, stating: “Ordinary people have distanced themselves from these political factions due to their inefficiency.”

He attributed the remaining “few” supporters of hardliners to personal interests and added: “Even these few supporters no longer see their interests aligned with issues like enforcing mandatory hijab or opposing negotiations, and thus their numbers are steadily decreasing.”

 

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