Iran port blast kills at least 8, injures over 750

Shafaq News/ Iranian authorities said on Saturday that the death toll from the powerful explosion at Shahid Rajaei Port in the southern city of Bandar Abbas has risen to at least eight, with more than 750 people injured.

Hussein Zafari, spokesman for Iran’s Crisis Management Organization, said the explosion appeared to have been caused by improper storage of chemical materials inside containers at the Shahid Rajaei sector of the port.

"The Director-General of Crisis Management had warned the port authorities during previous visits and pointed to the potential risks," he said.

A government spokesman said that while chemical materials were likely responsible, the exact cause of the blast had not yet been definitively determined.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered a full investigation into the incident and dispatched Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi to the scene. "Efforts are ongoing to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas," Vahidi said.

The explosion shattered windows within several kilometers of the blast site and was heard as far away as Qeshm Island, 26 kilometers south of the port, Iranian media reported.

Earlier, state television cited negligence in handling flammable materials as a "contributing factor" to the explosion.

Firefighting efforts were still underway late Saturday, and port customs authorities announced that the area was being cleared of trucks. The container yard where the explosion took place is believed to hold "dangerous goods and chemical materials," officials said.

All port activities have been suspended following the blast.

Shahid Rajaei Port is a critical part of Bandar Abbas Port, Iran’s main commercial hub located in southern Hormozgan province, along the northern shores of the Strait of Hormuz.

Covering an area of approximately 2,400 hectares, the port handles about 70 million tonnes of cargo annually across its 23 berths, which have a depth of 15 meters. It accounts for roughly 85% of Iran’s total port loading and unloading operations.