(Bloomberg) — Iranian authorities on Sunday were still battling to control fire and smoke unleashed more than 24 hours earlier by an explosion at a key commercial port on the Strait of Hormuz that state media said left at least 25 people dead and more than 800 injured.
Saturday’s blast rocked the Shahid Rajaee port in the city of Bandar Abbas, in the southern Hormozgan Province, sending shockwaves across nearby cities. Cargo operations have been partially resumed after activities were halted and the area was evacuated in the initial aftermath, according to Iran’s roads minister, Farzaneh Sadegh, who flew to the site to oversee investigations into the cause of the incident.
A spokesman for the country’s crisis management organization didn’t rule out sabotage, the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency said, although he suggested the explosion was likely caused by negligence, citing previous warnings about poor inspections and material maintenance at the port.
The disaster recalled memories of a deadly blast five years ago in the Port of Beirut that was triggered by a store of highly flammable ammonium nitrate.
The Iranian port’s customs office indicated Saturday’s incident may have been sparked by dangerous chemicals stored in the area, although it didn’t specify the materials or what might have ignited them. Initial reports blamed poor safety standards.
The Associated Press cited a possible link to a recent shipment of rocket fuel from China intended to replenish Iran’s missile stocks, which have been depleted by the country’s attacks on Israel in the course of its war with Hamas in Gaza.
“The public can rest assured that whatever the cause of the incident, we will announce it,” Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said on state television. “We will take action against those responsible and anyone who was negligent.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an official investigation, which authorities said could take some time.
Local media reported a series of smaller explosions overnight that spread the fire to multiple cargo containers at the port.
Unverified mobile footage appearing to show the initial explosion displayed intense flames and billowing orange smoke, originally concentrated at a single point, followed by a massive blast. Additional video captured the shockwaves sweeping across the area.
The incident occurred as Iranian and US officials gathered in Muscat, south of the Gulf of Oman, on Saturday to negotiate a new deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Both sides reported progress and agreed to meet again soon in Europe, although readouts indicated that substantial work remains to be done.
Shahid Rajaee, one of the largest commercial ports in the region, is a vital hub for Iran’s trade, handling more than half of the country’s exports and imports that are shipped by sea, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
It also holds strategic importance, sitting on the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for about 26% of global oil trade. It’s connected to Iran’s national rail and road networks, linking maritime trade to the country’s industrial centers and serving as a transit route for exports through Iran’s borders.
–With assistance from Valentine Baldassari.
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