Tehran, April 26, 2025: A massive explosion rocked the Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran early Saturday, leaving at least four people dead and over 500 injured, Iranian state media reported.
Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organisation, confirmed the fatalities to state television, while emergency services said 516 people had been wounded, many of whom were transferred to nearby medical facilities in Hormozgan province.
The explosion occurred around 12:30am local time (2100 GMT / 2:00am PKT) at the strategically vital port, situated about 15 kilometres southwest of Bandar Abbas along the northern shore of the Strait of Hormuz.
Initial investigations suggest the blast was triggered by poorly stored chemical materials. Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s Crisis Management Organisation, told ILNA news agency that warnings had previously been issued about the unsafe storage of chemicals at the port.
“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” Zafari said, adding that officials had raised concerns about the risk during earlier inspections.
While some reports from the semi-official Tasnim News Agency hinted at a fuel tank explosion as a possible cause, no official statement confirming the exact cause has been released so far.
Rapid response teams were deployed immediately, and port operations have been temporarily suspended to facilitate emergency services and ensure public safety.
Local officials, quoted by the Fars News Agency, said the explosion occurred at a specific dock section of the Shahid Rajaee Port, with firefighting efforts continuing.
The incident coincides with the third round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States in Oman, though authorities have not indicated any connection between the two events.
