At least 18 people died and over 700 are injured after the huge explosion in Iran's largest port
The huge explosion caused by chemicals has probably killed at least 18 people and injured more than 700, on Saturday, in the largest port in Iran, Bandar Abbas.
The explosion, which took place in the Shahid Rajaee section, took place while Iran begins a third round of nuclear issues with the United States, but there is no indication of a connection between the two events.
Hossein Zafari, a spokesman for the Organization for Crisis Management in Iran, seemed to blame the improper storage of chemicals in containers, at Shahid Rajaee, according to News.
“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals in containers”he told Ilran's news agency.
“Previously, the general director of the (organization) crisis management gave warnings this port during the visits and showed the possibility of dangers”, said Zafari.
However, a spokesman for the Iranian government said that, although the chemicals have most likely caused the explosion, it is not possible to establish the exact reason.
President Masoud Pezeshkian asked for an investigation of the incident and sent there the Interior Minister, who stated that the ephots for continuous fire extinguishing, as well as to prevent its spread in other areas.
The official news channels in Iran have broadcast images with a huge cloud of black and orange smoke, rising above the port after the explosion, and an office building with torn doors and papers and scraps scattered everywhere.
Located near the strategic Straites Orrmuz, the port Shahid Rajaee is the largest container hub in Iran, passing most of the goods in contain in the country, according to the state press.
The explosion destroyed the windows within a radius of several kilometers and was heard at Qeshm, an island located 26 kilometers south of the port, the Iranian press said.
Tasnim Semi-Offective News Agency has published filming with injured people lying on the road and receiving care, in the middle of confusion.
The state television reported that the poor management of flammable materials was a “contributor factor” to the explosion. A local official from the crisis management told the state television that the deflagration took place after several containers stored in the port exploded.
While the crews were trying to extinguish the fires, the customs of the port Vama stated that the trucks are evacuated from the area and that the container area where the explosion took place contains, most likely, ”dangerous goods and chemicals“. The activities in the port were stopped after the explosion, says officials.
Deadly incidents
A number of deadly incidents have struck, in recent years, the energy and industrial infrastructure in Iran, and many have blamed, as in the case of Saturday, negligence.
They included fires in refineries, an explosion of gas at a coal mine and an incident during an emergency repair at Bandar Abbas who led to the death of a worker in 2023.
Iran blamed for some of the other incidents on its greatest enemy, Israel, who has been attacking Iranian territory, aimed at Iran's nuclear program, and last year bombarded the country's anti-air defense positions.
The Tehran said that Israel was behind a February 2024 attack on Iranian gas pipelines, while Shahid Rajaee computers were affected by a cyber attack. Washington Post reported that Israel seems to have been behind that incident, as a reprisal for an anterior cyber attack.
Israel indicated that he has emotions about the result of US-Iran negotiations, demanding a complete dismantling of the Iran's nuclear program. The Tehran states that the program is used only for peaceful purposes, while international observers states that it is approaching the moment when it can build a bomb.
The Israeli army and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office have not yet commented on the question whether Israel was involved in a Saturday explosion.
The oil facilities were not affected by the explosion on Saturday, the Iranian authorities said.
The National Company of Oil Refining and Distribution in Iran has stated in a press release that it has no “related to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipes”.
