Although it was not immediately apparent what caused the explosion, it happened as Iran started a third round of nuclear negotiations with the United States in Oman.
Iran reports that at least four people have died as a result of the major port explosion. There are differing reports regarding the cause of the explosion that occurred at the Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran, close to Bandar Abbas. According to state media, the explosion injured around 500 individuals. “516 people have been injured as hundreds have been transferred to nearby medical centers” in the southern province of Hormozgan, where the Shahid Rajaee port is situated, according to Iranian state TV, which cited emergency personnel.
“The explosion of multiple containers kept in the Shahid Rajaee Port dock area was the cause of this tragedy. State TV was informed by a local crisis management official that “we are currently evacuating and transferring the injured to medical centers.”
Iranian media reported that the explosion broke windows within a few kilometers, and footage posted online showed a mushroom cloud emerging after the detonation.
Iran’s IRNA news agency initially claimed that a gas tanker had burst. Online videos depict a dense smoke plume at the location.
The origin of the explosion was not immediately known, but it happened as Iran started a third round of nuclear negotiations with the United States in Oman.
The port’s operations were halted in order to put out the fire, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, and given the sheer number of port workers, “many people were probably injured or even killed in the incident.”
The port’s customs officials reported that trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion happened probably included “dangerous goods and chemicals.” They were also working to put out a large fire.
“Negligence in handling flammable materials was a contributing factor” in the incident, according to state TV.
According to a statement released by the National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company, “The explosion and fire in Shahid Rajaee Port have no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes, and oil pipelines related to this company.” This indicates that the incident did not impact any oil facilities.
“The explosion happened in a section of the Shahid Rajaee port dock, and we are putting out the fire,” regional port official Esmaeil Malekizadeh was reported by state TV as saying.
The official IRNA news agency claims that Shahid Rajaee, located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tehran, is Iran’s most sophisticated cargo port.
It is situated north of the Strait of Hormuz, which is traversed by a fifth of the world’s oil production, and 23 kilometers west of Bandar Abbas, the provincial capital of Hormozgan.
State TV footage showed dense columns of black smoke rising from the port area, which is home to many containers.
According to the ISNA news agency, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref ordered an investigation to ascertain the origin of the incident and gauge the degree of the damage, while emergency services sent rapid response teams to the port.
The chairman of the crisis management authority for Hormozgan province, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, stated on state television that “the cause of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area.”
“We are currently evacuating and transporting the injured to nearby medical centers,” he stated.
Residents said they could feel the ground tremble even far from the port, and the explosion was so strong that it could be heard and felt some 50 kilometers away, according to the Fars news agency.
According to the Tasnim news agency, “the shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged.”
A cyberattack on systems at the same port in 2020 resulted in significant bottlenecks on the roadways and canals that led to the facility. According to the Washington Post, the incident seemed to be the result of reprisal by Iran’s arch-enemy Israel for an earlier Iranian cyberattack.
