TEHRAN, Iran – A powerful explosion shook a major commercial port in southern Iran on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 750 others, according to state media reports.
Although the exact cause of the blast was not immediately confirmed, the customs office at the port suggested on state television that a fire in a warehouse storing chemicals and hazardous materials may have triggered the explosion.
State media reported that the blast occurred at Shahid Rajaee Port, Iran’s largest commercial shipping hub, located in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan.
The fire sparked by the explosion continued to burn for over seven hours after the incident, which took place shortly before noon local time (0830 GMT), according to the Mehr News Agency.
A reporter from state television said strong winds hampered firefighting efforts.
Photos published by Iran’s official IRNA news agency showed rescue teams and survivors navigating debris-strewn wide roads near the blast site.
A truck was seen engulfed in flames, and blood was visible on a wrecked vehicle nearby. Helicopters were seen dumping water over thick black smoke billowing from the port’s container yards.
Emergency services said that “hundreds of people were transported to nearby medical centers,” while the regional blood donation center urged citizens to donate blood.
Later reports quoted a Hormozgan official confirming that the death toll had risen to 15.
A video circulated on social media—yet to be independently verified—showed a man filming the aftermath, saying, “My car is completely destroyed, and my friend has died,” with bodies visible on the ground.
Saturday is the first working day of the week in Iran, meaning the port was busy at the time of the explosion.
Three Chinese nationals were slightly injured, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, citing the Chinese consulate in Bandar Abbas.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian extended his condolences to the victims and ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the explosion. He also announced that Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni would visit the scene to oversee the inquiry.
Shahid Rajaee Port, located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tehran, is Iran’s most modern container terminal, according to IRNA.
The port lies 23 kilometers west of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, near the Strait of Hormuz—a critical waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
Explosion Linked to Containers
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of Hormozgan’s disaster management authority, told state TV that “the explosion originated from several containers stored at Shahid Rajaee Port.”
The semi-official Fars News Agency reported that the force of the explosion could be felt up to 50 kilometers away.
Tasnim News Agency added that “the blast waves severely damaged most of the port’s infrastructure.”
A spokesperson for the United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Ministry expressed “solidarity and support” for Iran following the disaster.
Iran’s National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company announced that “the explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port had no connection to refining operations, fuel storage facilities, distribution centers, or oil pipelines,” according to local media reports.
The company also confirmed that “fuel facilities in Bandar Abbas continue to operate normally with no disruptions.”
This rare explosion comes months after Iran’s deadliest industrial disaster in recent years—a gas leak-induced blast at a coal mine in Tabas in September, which killed more than 50 workers.
Saturday’s explosion also occurred amid ongoing high-level talks between Iran and the United States in Oman regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, with both sides reporting progress.
HORN LIFE
