Journalists Maria Abi Habib and Ben Hubbard wrote - in a report published in The New York Times - that a secret US diplomatic correspondence stated that a contractor working for the US Army issued a warning - at least 4 years ago - about the existence of a large stockpile of Explosive chemicals in Beirut Port in unsafe conditions.

It was also mentioned in this correspondence that the presence of these chemicals was noticed and a report was submitted about it by an American expert in port security, during an inspection of the port. Therefore, current and former US officials working in the Middle East say that this contractor is supposed to have submitted this information to the US embassy in Beirut or the Ministry of Defense (Pentagon).

The authors believe that the possibility of the United States knowing the existence of these chemicals, and not warning anyone of their danger, represents a shock and source of anger for Western diplomats, who lost two of their colleagues in this explosion, while others were injured.

The two writers point out that a high-ranking official in the US State Department denied officials in Washington knew of the information obtained by this contractor, and confirmed that this confidential correspondence obtained by "The New York Times" confirms that they are not informed of the information.

This official - who spoke on condition of anonymity - stated that this contractor made an unofficial visit to the port about 4 years ago, and at that time he was not an employee of the US government or the State Department. Therefore, there are no records of him providing any information on this potential risk.

The two writers pointed out that this powerful explosion that hit the capital Beirut and caused an earthquake to affect some Western diplomats who work in the Lebanese capital and live in luxury apartments overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the port, which made them face this explosion.

The authors added that the Dutch ambassador's wife died of her wounds, and a German consular employee died from this explosion.

And many diplomats from countries allied to the United States were damaged, after their windows were smashed and their homes were damaged. The damage also included the British and French embassies, and the windows in the residence of the French ambassador were smashed.

When they were briefed by the New York Times on the content of this secret correspondence, some of these diplomats expressed their shock and anger at the assumption that Washington was aware of this danger and refrained from sharing information.

As one Western diplomat - whose apartments were damaged by the blast, on condition of anonymity in compliance with diplomatic protocols - said, "If this information is confirmed, the least I can say is that this is shocking."

The two writers pointed out that the United States is one of a few Western countries that places its embassy, ​​consulate and diplomats in a location outside Beirut, as the American diplomatic complex, which is heavily guarded, is located in the mountain town of Beit Awkar, which is about 8 miles from the capital.

While the apartments of many diplomats in downtown Beirut have been damaged, the United States forces all its diplomats to live in the embassy compound, and to observe strict security precautions when they leave.

The two writers stated that the US embassy was located in Beirut and was then transferred, after it was subjected to several attacks in the 1980s, including an explosion in 1983 caused by a suicide car bomb attack, which destroyed the facade of the embassy building and killed 17 Americans and 46 others.

The two writers also pointed out that this American diplomatic correspondence, which the newspaper was able to access, was not classified classified, but sensitive, and issued by the US embassy in Beirut last Friday.

This correspondence includes a list of Lebanese officials who knew about the shipment of ammonium nitrate, a substance commonly used to make fertilizers and bombs, that arrived in Beirut in 2013.

The correspondent then mentioned that it was a US security advisor contracted by the US military who noticed the presence of these chemicals during a security inspection visit. According to the same correspondence, he worked as a consultant at the Lebanese Navy from 2013 to 2016. He stated that he visited one of the facilities in the port to follow up on the security measures, and at that time he alerted the port officials that there was a dangerous cargo stored in them.

The two writers said that it is not clear when this security advisor communicated this information, but there are many former and current American officials in the Middle East who confirm that this advisor probably delivered it immediately to the American officials overseeing the contract with him, in this case they are the Ministry Foreign or pentagon.

However, these Western diplomats acknowledged that the United States could not have done much in this case, in order to force the Lebanese government to get rid of this deadly cargo, since the port officials were asked to transport these materials, but they did not respond.