At the very least 14 folks have been killed and 750 injured in an enormous explosion at considered one of Iran’s key ports, authorities say.
The blast happened at Shahid Rajaee, the nation’s largest industrial port, close to the southern metropolis of Bandar Abbas on Saturday morning.
It blew out home windows and roofs of close by buildings and destroyed automobiles. Residents reported feeling the impression of the blast as much as 50km (31 miles) away.
Movies verified by the BBC present a hearth rising in depth earlier than an enormous explosion, with folks subsequently fleeing the blast and others mendacity wounded on roads surrounded by smoking particles.
“Your entire warehouse was stuffed with smoke, mud and ashes. I do not keep in mind if I went underneath the desk or was thrown there by the blast,” one one who was within the space informed state TV.
Aerial footage confirmed no less than three areas ablaze and Iran’s inside minister later confirmed that the hearth was spreading from one container to a different. Colleges and places of work within the area have been ordered to stay closed on Sunday.
One non-public maritime danger agency mentioned it believed the affected containers had contained stable gasoline destined for ballistic missiles.
The fireplace was the results of “improper dealing with of a cargo of stable gasoline meant to be used in Iranian ballistic missiles”, Ambrey Intelligence mentioned.
Ambrey mentioned it was conscious that an Iran-flagged ship “discharged a cargo of sodium perchlorate rocket gasoline on the port in March 2025”.
The Monetary Instances newspaper had beforehand reported that two vessels had shipped gasoline to Iran from China.
State media quoted witnesses as saying the explosion occurred after a hearth broke out and unfold to unsealed containers storing “flammable supplies”.
Customs officers later launched a press release reported by Iranian state TV saying the explosion had most likely resulted from a hearth that had damaged out in a hazmat and chemical supplies storage depot.
In a later replace Ambrey quoted Iran’s Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Organisation as saying officers had beforehand issued warnings to Shahid Rajaee port concerning the secure storage of chemical substances.
EPA
ReutersShahid Rajaee port is Iran’s largest and most superior terminal, by means of which a lot of the nation’s industrial transport transits.
It’s situated on the Strait of Hormuz, a serious transport channel for oil cargo, and is about 20km (12 miles) west of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port metropolis on its south coast and residential to the Iranian Navy’s predominant base.
Iran’s nationwide oil manufacturing firm mentioned the explosion on the port had “no connection” to the nation’s oil refineries, gasoline tanks and pipelines, native media reported.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed his “deep remorse and sympathy” for victims. He has introduced a authorities investigation and despatched the inside minister to the area to guide it.
Saturday’s explosion coincided with the most recent spherical of negotiations between Iranian and US officers on Iran’s nuclear programme, with US President Donald Trump aiming to make a deal that might forestall Tehran from gaining nuclear weapons.
Negotiating by means of Oman mediators, either side reported that progress had been made, however Iran’s high consultant mentioned work was nonetheless wanted to slim variations. Negotiations will proceed subsequent week.
Iran has mentioned it’s open to curbs on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions easing however has insisted it is not going to cease enriching uranium. It insists its nuclear programme is for civilian use.
The talks this 12 months have marked the primary high-level engagement between the US and Iran since 2018, when Trump in his first time period pulled out of a earlier deal to limit Iran’s nuclear actions and reinstated financial sanctions.
