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The catastrophic explosion that ripped through Bandar Abbas has once again cast a harsh spotlight on the Iranian regime’s ingrained practice of deception and its callous disregard for human life. As the dust settles on what is clearly a major disaster, the clerical regime is not focused on transparency or alleviating the suffering of its citizens, but on a desperate and cynical campaign to downplay the true scale of the tragedy.
The systematic manipulation of casualty figures is a sickening attempt to minimize public outrage and, crucially, to obscure its own profound incompetence and potential criminal culpability in the events leading up to the deadly blast. This is not merely miscommunication; it is a deliberate strategy of obfuscation, a new record in the regime’s long history of malfeasance and cover-ups.
A Conveniently Revised “Final” Count
In a brazen display of statistical manipulation, the regime, through the Head of the Judiciary in Hormozgan province, Mojtaba Ghahramani, declared a “final” death toll of 57 individuals for the Bandar Abbas disaster. This figure, comprising 46 identified bodies and 11 listed as missing, was presented after an initial, higher count was suddenly revised downwards.
As Families Mourn, #Iranian Regime’s Supreme Leader Urges Nation to “Get Over” Port Tragedyhttps://t.co/K3mE5uxJL3
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 5, 2025
The official justification for this drastic reduction was as grotesque as it was implausible: authorities claimed that dismembered body parts of some victims had initially been collected in separate body bags and mistakenly counted as individual fatalities. This macabre explanation seeks to normalize a shockingly low figure that stands in stark contradiction to numerous other reports.
The incredulity surrounding the “final” count of 57 is amplified by the regime’s own prior admissions. The same judiciary official, Mojtaba Ghahramani, who announced the revised figure, had previously stated that the death toll was 70. Even more damning, the regime’s Minister of Roads had earlier spoken of 100 fatalities. These shifting narratives from within the regime’s own apparatus betray a clear attempt to walk back initial, perhaps more accurate, assessments as the political imperative to control information and suppress public anger took precedence. The contradictions highlight a panicked response rather than a transparent accounting of the dead.
Workers Reveal a Grimmer Reality
While officials in Tehran and provincial capitals engaged in numerical acrobatics, those on the ground, the very individuals who witnessed the inferno and its immediate aftermath, painted a far grimmer picture. A dock employee, directly exposed to the disaster’s brutal reality, reported that at least 200 people had been killed. This devastating estimate was corroborated by a regime customs broker, who also stated that a minimum of 200 lives were lost.
#Iran’s Officials Urge Tight Control of Minds and Morals to Quell Public Dissenthttps://t.co/rYJYo5rp4r
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 4, 2025
This customs official provided the harrowing detail that “over 17 bodies were pulled from a single container,” a testament to the intensity and lethality of the blast that makes the official count of 57 seem utterly absurd. These accounts from port personnel directly contradict the sanitized version peddled by the authorities.
Beyond official and semi-official sources, eyewitness accounts from ordinary citizens further dismantle the regime’s narrative. Reports from those present in Bandar Abbas during or immediately after the explosion cited horrifying figures, with estimates of the dead ranging from 300, 400, 500, and even higher. While such numbers are harder to verify independently in the regime’s repressive environment, their consistency and the sheer scale of devastation described – including a fire chief’s report of 1400°C temperatures and kilometers of smoke – lend them a chilling credibility that the regime’s paltry “final” figure entirely lacks. The discrepancy is not a matter of statistical error; it is a chasm created by deliberate deceit.
Families Left in Agony, Met with Callous Dismissal
Behind the regime’s cynical numbers game lies the profound and unaddressed anguish of the victims’ families. The state-run Etemad newspaper, on May 5th, relayed the desperate plea of Ali Afrand, the father of a missing young man named Afshin: “Our request is that they clarify our situation. We are all waiting and hoping. At least get us out of this uncertainty. Even if they give us a piece of bone from our loved one, we will be content, just to know where they were and where they were found.” He recounted how families had scoured hospitals in Bandar Abbas and Shiraz to no avail.
Families protested in Bandar Abbas today over the regime's deadly cover-up of the casualties of last week's catastrophic explosion. The @Mojahedineng spokesperson called on fellow Iranians to express nationwide solidarity with the grieving people of Bandar Abbas. The MEK's… pic.twitter.com/1Il8vC0mwm
— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) May 3, 2025
Meanwhile, Rasoul Falahati, Khamenei’s representative in Rasht, dismissed reports of official responsibility, calling critical coverage “enemy speculation.” He blamed “hostile elements” previously arrested in the area and admitted passive defense failures but insisted no military or explosive materials were involved, framing the incident as a food storage issue. His remarks reflect the regime’s tactic of blaming foreign enemies while downplaying internal accountability.
When these desperate families approached officials at the docks for answers, they were callously dismissed with: “Go, we will follow up on your cases ourselves.” This cruel indifference is the hallmark of a regime that views its citizens not as people to be served, but as problems to be managed or silenced.
The cover-up in Bandar Abbas is not an isolated incident but part of a deeply entrenched pattern of deception employed by the Iranian regime whenever its authority or image is threatened. From downplaying the death toll during popular uprisings and protests to systematically concealing the true extent of the COVID-19 pandemic within its borders, the mullahs’ primary instinct is to lie and obfuscate. This strategy aims to quell dissent, avoid accountability for its catastrophic mismanagement and corruption, and project a false image of competence and control.
#Iran Regime’s Interior Minister Admits to Killing Protesters During #IranProtests, International Community Must Intervene.
Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, on Saturday, announced , between 200 and 255 people lost their lives during the nationwide Iran protests.https://t.co/S5itxU8C69— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 1, 2020
The regime understands that the truth is its greatest enemy, and in the Bandar Abbas disaster, the truth points directly to its criminal negligence.
The tragic events in Bandar Abbas and the subsequent, shameful attempts by the Iranian regime to manipulate the death toll serve as yet another damning indictment of its character. The contradictory figures, the implausible explanations, and the heartless dismissal of grieving families all point to a desperate cover-up. The people of Iran deserve truth and justice, not the continued machinations of a regime built on falsehoods.