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A massive explosion tore through Shahid Rajaee, Iran’s largest commercial port, on Saturday, triggering a major blaze that has so far killed 14 people and injured 750 others, authorities confirmed.
The blast, which occurred just before noon local time (0830 GMT) in the southern province of Hormozgan, triggered widespread fires that raged for over 10 hours, state media reported.
“The intensity of the fire in Shahid Rajaee Port has increased, and it is possible that the fire could spread to other areas and containers,” state television said as emergency crews battled strong winds that hampered efforts to extinguish the flames.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. However, the port’s customs office, quoted by state TV, suggested that the incident likely stemmed from a fire in a depot storing hazardous and chemical materials.
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of Hormozgan’s crisis management authority, confirmed that “the cause of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area.”
Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, who visited the site, confirmed the updated casualty figures. The minister confirmed early Sunday on Telegram that the explosion has now claimed “14 dead and 750 injured so far. All resources from other cities and Tehran have been dispatched… and we hope to be able to extinguish the fire in the coming hours,” Momeni stated.
With choking smoke spreading throughout the area, all schools and offices 23 kilometres (14 miles) away in Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan province, have been ordered closed on Sunday, state TV said, to allow authorities to focus on the emergency effort.
“The intensity of the fire in Shahid Rajaee Port has increased, and it is possible that the fire could spread to other areas and containers,” state TV said late Saturday.
Strong winds were complicating efforts to extinguish the flames, a reporter for the broadcaster said.
Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran, is Iran’s most advanced container port, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Images published by the official IRNA showed scenes of devastation, with rescuers and survivors navigating streets littered with debris. One image captured a truck trailer engulfed in flames beside a crushed, blood-stained vehicle, while helicopters dropped water on billowing clouds of black smoke rising from stacks of containers.
State TV reported that hundreds of the injured had been transported to nearby medical centres. The provincial blood transfusion service issued an urgent call for donations to support the ongoing emergency response.
In a video circulating on social media — which AFP could not independently verify — a man filming the aftermath said: “My truck was completely destroyed and my friend died,” as the camera panned across a lifeless body lying on the ground.
Saturday marks the start of the working week in Iran, meaning the port was likely at full operational capacity when the explosion occurred.
Three Chinese nationals were among the injured, although they sustained only minor wounds, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, citing its consulate in Bandar Abbas.
President Masoud Pezeshkian extended his condolences to the victims’ families and pledged a full investigation. He announced that he had “issued an order to investigate the situation and the causes,” assigning Interior Minister Momeni to oversee the inquiry.
The shockwave from the explosion was felt up to 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported, while Tasnim news agency noted that “most of the port buildings were severely damaged.”
The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry expressed “solidarity with Iran” over the tragedy.
The National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company sought to allay fears of a broader disaster, stating that “the explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port has no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes or oil pipelines,” and that “Bandar Abbas oil facilities are currently operating without interruption.”
In response to the disaster, authorities ordered all schools, offices, and universities in Bandar Abbas — located 23 kilometres east of Shahid Rajaee port — to close on Sunday. “Schools, offices, and universities in Bandar Abbas city will be closed on Sunday,” Hassanzadeh said, as reported by state television, citing concerns about heavy smoke spreading across the region.
The Shahid Rajaee port, located over 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran near the strategic Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply passes — is Iran’s most advanced container port, according to IRNA.
The rare explosion comes just months after Iran suffered one of its deadliest workplace accidents in recent memory, when a coal mine gas leak in Tabas claimed the lives of more than 50 miners in September.
The blast also coincided with sensitive diplomatic talks between Iranian and US delegations in Oman over Tehran’s nuclear programme, during which both sides reportedly made progress.
Pascal Arogorn Ibe
