Around 12 noon on Saturday, April 26, coinciding with the third round of Tehran-Washington talks in Muscat, a massive explosion occurred at Rajaei Port in the city of Bandar Abbas. The blast shook the ground within at least a 50-kilometer radius and shattered windows of buildings.
Four days after the incident, videos circulating on social media show that the fire has yet to be contained.
On Monday, official sources reported that 70 people had died and 1,200 others were injured in the explosion at Rajaei Port in Bandar Abbas.
Explosion at Iran’s Largest Commercial Port and Its Impact on the Economy
Meanwhile, a well-informed source told the state-run Etemad newspaper that as of Sunday noon, the Ministry of Health and all its affiliated organizations had been prohibited from releasing any statistics regarding the number of injured or deceased and the broader human impact of the explosion involving shipping containers at the Bandar Abbas port terminal.
The executive secretary of the Labor House in Hormozgan province stated that many women and truck drivers had been working at various sites within Rajaei Port and remain missing, with their families searching for them desperately each day.
Iranian regime’s officials have yet to announce the cause of the incident, though speculation began in the immediate aftermath of the explosion.
Habib Ghasemi, a member of the regime’s Parliamentary Construction Commission, stated that the Rajaei Port explosion resulted from human error and equipment deficiencies.
He said: “This incident shows that logistical infrastructure and equipment must be carefully assessed before such accidents occur. It seems that a combination of human error and equipment weakness, or even each independently, could have caused this incident.”
The Rajaei terminal where the explosion occurred is under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Ports owned by or directly linked to the IRGC Navy lack the necessary infrastructure for container unloading.
The security firm Ambrey told the Associated Press that evidence suggests the explosion was caused by improper storage of sodium perchlorate at the port. According to the Financial Times, China had shipped consignments of this substance to Iran in January—at a time when Iran’s missile fuel reserves had been depleted following missile launches at Israel by Iran and its ally Hezbollah.
A two-week shutdown of this strategic port due to the damage sustained could deal a severe blow to the economy of Iran’s regime. This port is Iran’s most important commercial terminal.
Following an increase in toxic air pollutants, the Health Ministry of Iran’s regime declared a state of emergency in Hormozgan Province. The ministry urged people to stay indoors, keep their windows shut, and wear masks if they must go outside.
