Regarding the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, many people believe that the explosion occurred when the fire burned 2,750 tons of amoni nitrate (ammonium nitrate) stored at the port. The initial cause of the fire is unknown, USA Today reported.
President Michel Aoun said on August 7 that he had asked France to provide satellite images to see which fighter jets or missiles were in the air at the time of the blast.
Meanwhile, in recent days, the investigation has focused on investigating Lebanese customs and port officials.
Also on August 7, Lebanon's state news agency said that Judge Ghassan Khoury had issued an arrest warrant for the head of Badri Therefore customs agency. Mr. Therefore said that he has warned officials many times in recent years about amoni nitrate in storage.
President Aoun confirmed to the press that he had received information about the dangerous materials a few weeks ago and "immediately instructed" military and security officials to handle them.
The materials have been there for 7 years, since 2013. It was there and they said it was dangerous and I took no responsibility," the president, who took office in 2016, said.
The latest documents show that, according to AP, over the past 6 years, at least 10 times Lebanese customs, military, security and judicial agencies have warned about large-scale explosive chemical warehouses being held but have taken little protection measures at the central port of Beirut.
President Aoun revealed that the Lebanese government's investigation into the cause of the explosion in Beirut is focusing on 20 people. Port officials have been detained at home.
French forensic police officer No. 2 Dominique Abbenanti said on August 7 that the explosion in Beirut "could have been an accident" but it was too early to know the details. France - a country with close ties to the former colony - has sent 22 investigators to investigate the explosion.
French police can question witnesses or question the suspects, Eric Berot, head of a unit involved in the investigation, said. According to him, the investigation is very complicated due to the " situation in Lebanon", specifically the economic and political crisis in this country.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump called the Lebanon blast a "terrifying attack" based on the suspicions of US generals he did not name. However, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper later said that the explosion in the Lebanese capital was likely an accident.
According to a US government source, the blast in Lebanon on August 4 had the power to destroy at least 500 tons of TNT and was estimated to be based on the widespread destruction caused by the blast.
