What Caused Massive Blast At Iran's Bandar Abbas Port That Killed Over 20

At least 25 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured in a massive blast that rocked the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday. The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred probably due to the poor storage of chemicals in containers, according to officials.

"The total number of people killed is at least 25," Tasnim news agency reported, citing Hormozgan province's head of the judiciary, Mojtaba Ghahremani. 

The explosion occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil output passes. The timing of the blast raised eyebrows as it occurred when Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no indication of a link between the two events. 

What Caused The Blast

Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran's crisis management organisation, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.

"The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers," he told Iran's ILNA news agency.

"Previously, the Director General of Crisis Management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger," Zafari said.

Meanwhile, the port's customs office said in a statement carried by state television that the explosion probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot. A regional emergency official said several containers had exploded.

Quoting a person with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the New York Times reported that what exploded was sodium perchlorate -- a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.

However, an Iranian government spokesperson said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason.

Probe Ordered

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered a probe into the incident and sent his interior minister, Eskandar Momeni, to the explosion site. Momeni said efforts were continuing to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas.

Speaking Sunday at the scene, Momeni said that "the situation has stabilised in the main areas" of the port. He told state TV that workers had resumed loading containers and customs clearance.

Iran's official news channels aired footage of a vast black and orange cloud of smoke billowing up above the port in the aftermath of the blast, and an office building with its doors blown off and papers and debris strewn around.

Fars news agency reported that the explosion was so powerful that it was felt and heard about 50 kilometres (30 miles) away.

"The shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged," Tasnim news agency reported.

Located near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Shahid Rajaee port is Iran's biggest container hub, handling a majority of the country's container goods, according to state media.

Blast Adds To The Series Of Deadly Events

A series of deadly incidents has hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years, with many, like Saturday's blast, blamed on negligence.

They have included refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coal mine, and an emergency repair incident at Bandar Abbas that killed one worker in 2023.

Iran has blamed some other incidents on its arch-foe Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil targeting Iran's nuclear programme in recent years and last year bombed the country's air defences.

Tehran said Israel was behind a February 2024 attack on Iranian gas pipelines, while in 2020, computers at Shahid Rajaee were hit by a cyberattack. The Washington Post reported that Israel appeared to be behind that incident as retaliation for an earlier Iranian cyberattack.

Israel has indicated it is nervous about the outcome of US-Iran talks, demanding a full dismantlement of Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran says the programme is used solely for peaceful purposes, while international observers say it is getting closer to being able to build a bomb.
 

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