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In the aftermath of the devastating explosion at Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, the clerical regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivered a speech marked by a dispassionate tone, dismissive language, and a swift pivot away from the human toll toward ideological messaging—culminating in a pledge for regional “Islamic unity” as the regime’s shield against foreign pressure.
Speaking more than a week after the April 26 blast, which has left hundreds killed, many more injured or missing, Khamenei downplayed the disaster as an inevitable mishap. “Accidents happen for the apparatus: earthquakes, fires, intentional or unintentional destruction—they happen everywhere and they will be compensated,” he told officials preparing for the Hajj pilgrimage.
This framing, offered while families searched for remains and survivors protested in Bandar Abbas, demanding answers, reflected a calculated effort to contain public outrage rather than address the depth of the tragedy. His speech made no mention of the victims by name or of the catastrophic damage to Iran’s most vital commercial port.
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
Instead, Khamenei’s attention focused on the emotional reactions of bereaved families, emphasizing the need for endurance over justice. “What burns the human heart are the families—families of the deceased, their loved ones are gone,” he said, before prescribing patience as the response. “We tell them that if we endure life’s hardships with patience, the reward God grants for such patience is worth thousands of times more than the bitterness of that hardship.”
Observers noted that his repeated references to families, without acknowledgment of those killed or maimed, betrayed an underlying concern with public unrest. Protests had already erupted in Bandar Abbas in the days following the explosion, with citizens blaming negligence in storing hazardous materials and decrying government opacity.
Even as Khamenei invoked patience, investigations were stalling and official explanations shifting. Independent reports and international outlets have tied the blast to mishandled containers of sodium perchlorate, a chemical used in missile fuel, stored dangerously close to flammable goods.
#Iran’s Officials Urge Tight Control of Minds and Morals to Quell Public Dissenthttps://t.co/rYJYo5rp4r
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 4, 2025
Yet Khamenei presented the disaster as a technical setback for state agencies, not as a crisis demanding accountability. “Here too, if a problem has arisen for the apparatus, God willing, it will be swiftly, powerfully, and capably resolved by our lively, capable, youthful executive agencies,” he asserted, projecting confidence in institutional self-repair rather than transparency or restitution.
His matter-of-fact tone stood in sharp contrast to the magnitude of the explosion, which paralyzed Iran’s largest port, forced evacuations, destroyed critical infrastructure, and threatens food and goods shortages.
Notably, Khamenei’s speech shifted swiftly from the port disaster to international politics, where his rhetoric grew impassioned. He framed Muslim unity as the supreme solution to regional crises: “Today, what is the benefit? Unity of the Islamic Ummah. In my view, there is no benefit greater for the Islamic nation than unity,” he declared. “When we are separated, American colonialism in one way, the Zionist regime in another… impose their interests upon the nations. You see what’s happening. It becomes like Gaza.”
“A City in Ashes: The Hidden Tragedy of #BandarAbbas”https://t.co/PnPOSVvkq8
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 1, 2025
His urgent appeals for international solidarity and assistance contrasted starkly with his distant, procedural comments about the domestic tragedy. While invoking Gaza, Palestine, and Yemen as cautionary tales, he offered little more than routine condolences to his own citizens.
The Supreme Leader’s approach—centering ideological endurance, minimizing state culpability, and quickly pivoting to external threats—underscored the regime’s priority: maintaining control over public perception rather than confronting systemic failures.
As grieving families and outraged residents continue to seek answers in Bandar Abbas, Khamenei’s words offered no solace, no accountability, and a clear signal: the regime’s gaze remains fixed elsewhere—a blindness for which it will inevitably reap what it sows.