A massive explosion, likely caused by the detonation of chemical materials, claimed the lives of at least 18 people and left over 700 injured on Saturday at Bandar Abbas, Iran’s largest port, according to Iranian state media.
The blast, which struck the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran entered its third round of nuclear negotiations with the United States in Oman, though there was no indication of any connection between the two events.
Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organization, suggested that the explosion was due to poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.
“The chemicals inside the containers caused the explosion,” he told the ILNA news agency, adding that the Director General of Crisis Management had previously warned the port about potential dangers during inspections.
An Iranian government spokesperson confirmed that chemicals likely triggered the blast but emphasized that the exact cause was still undetermined.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation into the incident, sending the interior minister to the scene. The minister stated that efforts to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas were ongoing.
Iranian state TV broadcast images of a massive black and orange smoke cloud rising above the port after the blast, with an office building’s doors blown off and debris scattered across the area. Shahid Rajaee, located near the critical Strait of Hormuz, is Iran’s largest container hub and handles the majority of the country’s containerized goods.
The explosion’s shockwave shattered windows several kilometers away, with reports of it being heard in Qeshm, an island 26 kilometers (16 miles) south of the port. Injured individuals were seen on the road being assisted amid scenes of chaos, according to semi-official Tasnim news agency footage.
Earlier, state TV reported that the improper handling of flammable materials was a “contributing factor” to the explosion. A local crisis management official stated that the blast occurred after several containers at the port exploded.
As firefighters worked to control the fires, customs officials said trucks were being evacuated from the area, and the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained dangerous goods and chemicals. Port activities were suspended following the blast.
This tragic incident is part of a series of deadly events that have affected Iran’s energy and industrial sectors in recent years, many attributed to negligence. These include refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coal mine, and a deadly emergency repair incident at Bandar Abbas in 2023.
While Iran has blamed some of these incidents on its rival Israel, which has targeted Iran’s nuclear program and infrastructure in the past, there was no immediate comment from Israel’s military or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office regarding Saturday’s explosion.
Authorities stated that the blast did not impact oil facilities, with the National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company confirming that the incident was unrelated to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes, or oil pipelines.
