Iran, Israel, the US, Russia, and China are interconnected by rumors of cyberattacks and sabotage
By Mohammad Eslami and Ibrahim Marashi | –
Braga, Portugal and San Marcos, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment, Feature) – As negotiations between Iran and the United States entered a critical third round, an unexpected disaster struck one of Iran’s most vital logistical arteries. Shahid Rajaee Port, located in Bandar Abbas along the strategic Strait of Hormuz, was rocked by a series of explosions earlier this week, leaving nearly 40 people dead and injuring more than 2,000 others.
The incident has reignited speculation about external sabotage, as the explosion targeted a facility crucial for Iran’s commercial, fuel, and military operations — at a time when geopolitical tensions are once again peaking.
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Some in the Iranian state may attribute the explosion to an Israeli sabotage operation to Israel, as Netanyahu has repeatedly his opposition to any potential between Iran and the United States and could actively seek to undermine the negotiation process. It will be difficult for elites in the Islamic Republic to view this event as a mere accident, given the Port was once targeted by an alleged Israeli cyberattack in 2020 in retaliation for an alleged Iranian cyberattack on Israel’s water distribution system, and a cyber attack hit Iran Sunday, just a day after the port explosion.
Explosion at Bandar Abbas 4/26/2025. Via Tasnim News. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Given the strategic importance of Shahid Rajaee Port for Iran’s foreign trade, energy exports, and military operations, it highlights how regional and international developments are deeply interconnected, and how past sabotage operations in Iran can cast long shadows over diplomatic efforts in Oman.
Initial Speculations and Official Denials
Iran has reason to be wary of Israel infiltrating its infrastructure. The most famous case was Stuxnet, the world’s first digital weapon, when Israel was able to destroy parts of Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility in 2010 with a malicious digital code known as Stuxnet. This code on a USB drive caused nuclear centrifuges to accelerate to the point that they destroyed themselves.
Iran also reason to believe its oil and gas infrastructure might have been sabotaged given past precedents. Around 2017 to 2018, the al-Ahwaz National Resistance, an umbrella movement for Arab separatist groups, had sabotage of Iran’s pipeline facilities, usually at night. They have been inactive, and the greatest ethnic group to threaten the Islamic Republic are Baluch separatists operating in the far east of Iran.
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Mohammad Eslami is an Invited Assistant Professor of International Relations at University of Minho and a Researcher at Research Center for Political Science (CICP) of Portugal. He is also a Visiting Fellow of International Security at School of Law and Government of Dublin City University of Ireland.
Ibrahim Al-Marashi is Associate Professor of History at Cal State San Marcos. He co-authored with Arthur Goldschmidt Jr., A Concise History of the Middle East (Routledge, 2018) and with Phebe Marr, The Modern History of Iraq (Routledge, 2017).
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