Iranian port blast kills at least 8, injures 750

Thick, black smoke rises as rescuers arrive near the source of an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port dock southwest of Bandar Abbas in the Iranian province of Hormozgan on April 26, 2025. (Photo by MOHAMMAD RASOLE MORADI / IRNA / AFP)

#Iran 

A massive explosion occurred on Saturday at the Shahid Rajaee port, Iran’s largest commercial port, located in the southern province of Hormozgan

At least eight people were killed and 750 were injured, Iranian officials said.

The blast was linked to a warehouse of hazardous chemicals, possibly used to make ballistic missile fuel.

The explosion, described as “huge” by the head of the Red Crescent Society, started with a fire in a warehouse for hazardous materials.

“The cause was the explosion of chemicals inside containers,” Hossein Zafari, a spokesman for Iran’s crisis management organization, told the ILNA news agency.

The fire burned for about 10 hours and grew stronger, with a risk of spreading.

According to the security firm Ambrey, the port received a shipment of “sodium perchlorate,” a chemical used as missile fuel, in March.

The cargo, which came from China, was intended to replenish Iran’s missile stockpile, which has been depleted after direct attacks on Israel during the conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Ambrey said the fire may have been caused by improper handling of the material.

Ship tracking data reviewed by the Associated Press confirmed that a ship carrying the chemicals was in port in March.

Iran has not officially confirmed receipt of the cargo, and the Iranian mission to the UN did not respond to requests for comment.

It is unclear why the chemicals were not removed from the port, especially after the tragic explosion at the port of Beirut in Lebanon in 2020, which killed more than 200 people when improperly stored chemicals exploded.

Huge explosion at port in Iran. Apparently chemicals, very reminiscent of the explosion in Beirut a few years ago.

Massive fires break out at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port after a massive explosion.

Orange smoke is usually observed with nitrogen dioxide (NO2). An explosion involving ammonium nitrate produces toxic gases such as ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide, rocket propellant and nitric oxide (NO). There are about 300 injuries so far.

Iranian officials have not directly blamed any country or group for the incident, and an Israeli official denied any Israeli involvement, according to Channel 12 news.

The explosion was so powerful that it was felt 50 kilometers away, with residents reporting tremors on the ground.

Videos on social media showed black smoke billowing from the port and shattered glass in distant buildings.

Many of the victims were taken to nearby hospitals, and emergency crews worked to control the blaze.

Trucks were evacuated from the area, and the port was evacuated because of the risk of more explosions.

Iranian state television reported that “negligence in handling flammable materials” contributed to the accident.

The Shahid Rajaee port, located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the capital Tehran, is Iran’s most advanced container port and is close to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the explosion and assess the damage.

Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, the head of Hormozgan’s crisis management, confirmed that the blast occurred in an area of “”the port where containers with dangerous goods were stored.

Industrial accidents are common in Iran, especially at aging oil facilities that struggle to obtain spare parts due to international sanctions.

However, Iran’s state oil company said the explosion did not affect refineries, fuel tanks or pipelines in the region.

The incident occurred on the same day that Iran and the United States held talks in Oman over Iran’s nuclear program.

In 2020, the same port suffered a cyberattack, blamed by some reports on Israel, which caused major traffic jams.

The talks between Iran and the United States are aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but Israel fears the deal under negotiation will not be enough to prevent that.

The incident is one of the worst accidents in Iran since a coal mine explosion in Tabas in September that killed more than 50 people.

Iranian authorities are continuing to investigate to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

Published in 04/27/2025 01h08

Portuguese version

Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.

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