A massive explosion causes eight dead and almost 750 injured in an Iranian port

A massive explosion caused this Saturday eight dead and almost 750 injured in the port of Shahid Rajai, located in southern Iran, for reasons that have not yet been explained.

EFE

The event occurred at noon from Iran, when several containers containing chemicals have been exploited at the docks of this port, which have not yet been identified, official sources reported.

«The initial investigations showed that the cause of the explosion were containers where chemicals were stored, which exploded with these consequences,» said the spokesman of the National Crisis Management Organization, Hossein Zafari, cited by the Iranian Agency Isna.

Zafari explained that the explosion was so powerful that it was heard within a radius of 50 kilometers and felt tremors in some nearby areas, while the expansive wave damaged buildings and cars in the area.

This port suffered a cyber attack that paralyzed its activities in 2020 and which Iran accused Israel.

Shahid Rajai is the main Iranian container port and receives 80 % of the transport of merchandise by that medium in the country.

The spokeswoman for the Iranian government, Fatemeh Mohajarani, also referred to containers «who probably contained chemicals», but said that we must wait for the completion of the investigation of the causes of the event.

The explosion caused a fire that hours later was still not controlled by firefighters, who resorted to the use of helicopters.

«Unfortunately, the fire has not yet been completely extinguished,» said Iraní Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, to the media after an air inspection of the place of the explosion.

Momeni reported that at the time of the night the death toll rose to eight while the injured increased to about 750, according to TV television.

Before the large number of injured, the health authorities have asked citizens throughout the country to go to blood donation centers.

The tragedy happened on the same day that Iran and the United States maintained a third round of conversations about the Iranian nuclear program, which occurs in the midst of the military threats of US President Donald Trump.

The president of Iran, Masud fishshkian, expressed in X his «deep regret and solidarity for the victims» and ordered to investigate «the situation and the causes of the incident.»

To do this, he sent Momeni as his special representative to closely examine the dimensions of the accident.

Port activities have been suspended so that security and relief forces can quickly control the situation, according to the Iranian agency Tasnim.

Iran’s National Refining and Oil Distribution Company reported in a statement that activities related to its company have not been affected and continue to operate in Bandar Abás, an important oil center in the country.

Rescuers transfer to an injured after an explosion in the port of Shahid Rajae in Bandar Abbas, Iran (Western Asia News Agency via Reuters)

People walk after an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on April 26, 2025. Mohammad Rasooul Moradi/Irna/Wana (Western Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Firefighters and rescuers work after the explosion in the Iranian port (Mohammad Rasoul Moradi/Irna/Wana via Reuters)

The explosion caused a huge column of smoke (Mohammad Rasoul Moradi/Irna/Wana Via Reuters)

A helicopter flies over the accident site (Mohammad Rasoul Moradi/Irna/Wana Via Reuters)

General view of the extinction work of a fire in an oil refinery in Bandar Abbas (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/Wana assigned to Reuters)