​New theory about deadly Beirut blast ​

Lebanon’s President has claimed a “missile or bomb” could have been responsible for a blast that devastated Beirut, killing 154 people.

There has been growing criticism of the country’s leaders since the blast on Tuesday, with it now emerging a huge shipment of hazardous ammonium nitrate had languished for years in a warehouse in the heart of the capital.

President Michel Aoun admitted on Friday that the “paralysed” government system needed to be “reconsidered”.

He pledged “swift justice”, but rejected widespread calls for an international probe, telling a reporter he saw it as an attempt to “dilute the truth”.

“There are two possible scenarios for what happened: it was either negligence or foreign interference through a missile or bomb,” he said, the first time a top Lebanese official raised the possibility that the port had been attacked.

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Mr Aoun also confirmed he had known about the ammonium nitrate stockpile since July 20, claiming he had told officials to do “what is needed” with it.

The huge shipment had been inside the warehouse since being seized from a cargo ship in 2013.

But Mr Aoun added that he had “no authority to deal directly with the port” and hadn’t known “where it was placed”.

What ignited the massive shipment of the chemical remains unclear — officials have said work had recently begun on repairs to the warehouse, while others suspected fireworks stored either in the same place or nearby.

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ARMY SHOULD LEAD BOMB PROBE: HEZBOLLAH 

An estimated 300,000 people, 100,000 of them children, have been made homeless by the explosion.

With destruction from the blast engulfing half of the capital and estimated to cost more than $4.2 billion, world leaders, advocacy groups and Lebanese have demanded an international probe to ensure impartiality.

But Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement said on Friday the army should lead such a probe because it was “trusted” by all.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah denied accusations the Shiite party had been storing arms at the port, saying: “We have nothing in the port.”

Lebanon’s probe has so far led to 21 arrests, including the port’s general manager Hassan Koraytem, other customs officials and port engineers, a judicial source told AFP.

Dozens more were being interrogated by Lebanon’s military court, which is focusing on administrative and security officials at the port as well as government authorities who may have ignored warnings about explosive materials.
 

‘IT WAS A BOMB OF SOME KIND’ 

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday described it as an “attack” and “a bomb of some kind”.

“Our prayers go out to all the victims and their families. The United States stands ready to assist Lebanon. We have a very good relationship with the people of Lebanon and we will be there to help,” he told reporters.

“It looks like a terrible attack.”

When questioned by journalists Mr Trump doubled down, saying it “would seem like it, based on the explosion”.

“I met with some of our great generals, and they just seem to think that it was,” he said.

“This was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event, this was a – seems to be, according to them, they would know better than I would, but they seem to think it was an attack, it was a bomb of some kind, yes.”

Mr Trump’s comments were criticised and directly contradicted by three US defence officials just hours later that same day.

The anonymous officials told CNN they “didn’t know what the President was talking about” and there was no evidence as of yet that it was an attack,