Iran has been accused of underreporting the severity of the explosion, including the death toll, at the Bandar Abbas port over the weekend in a move to circumvent an internal uprising.

The explosion that rocked an Iranian port, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 1,000 others, had its epicenter at a facility ultimately owned by a charitable foundation overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's office.

A massive explosion and fire that rocked a port Saturday in southern Iran, purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant, has killed at least 40 people and injured around 1,000 others, officials said.