Efforts to extinguish the fires at Iran’s largest container port, the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, continue as the aftermath of a catastrophic explosion unfolds. Two days following the incident, the death toll has tragically risen to at least 70, with over 1,000 individuals injured.
Iran’s Interior Minister, Eskandar Momeni, attributed the explosion to negligence, stating that the event stemmed from “shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence.” He confirmed that authorities have summoned “some individuals deemed responsible” for questioning in connection to the disaster.
Details on the explosion and its impact
According to customs authorities, an imported cargo ignited and led to the explosion. However, the Iranian defense ministry has refuted claims from foreign media suggesting that the incident involved a shipment of missile fuel chemicals. The crisis management director for Hormozgan province, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, noted on Monday that firefighting efforts at the port were “almost in its final stages.”
Hormozgan Governor Mohammad Ashouri Taziani mentioned that while cleanup operations are underway, they could persist for several additional days, estimating that normalization of operations might take one to two weeks. He also reported that roughly 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of the port area—nearly two-thirds of the site—suffered severe damage from the explosion.
Controversy surrounding the cause of the blast
The Customs Administration revealed that the cargo involved in the incident had not been registered or formally declared prior to the explosion, as reported by the Isna news agency. On Sunday, the CEO of Sina Marine and Port Services Development Company, the entity responsible for the affected area, attributed the disaster to “a repeated and catastrophic error involving false declarations of hazardous goods.”
In a counterstatement, the defense ministry denied allegations that the explosion resulted from the mishandling of sodium perchlorate, a compound used in ballistic missiles. Brigadier General Reza Talai-Nik asserted that there were “no import or export of fuel shipments or cargo for military use in the vicinity of the incident,” accusing foreign media of disseminating “fake news.” Meanwhile, Ambrey Intelligence, a private maritime risk consultancy, indicated that a shipment of sodium perchlorate had arrived at the port the previous month and suggested that the explosion might have been caused by improper handling. An unnamed source linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also claimed that sodium perchlorate was involved in the incident.