Several containers exploded at a major port in southern Iran on Saturday, causing a massive blast and leaving scores injured, authorities reported. The explosion occurred at Shahid Rajaee port, located over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tehran, according to state media. Officials have yet to announce the cause of the explosion.
The incident coincides with Iran’s ongoing third round of nuclear program negotiations with the U.S. in Oman. Initially, the state-run Fars news agency estimated 47 people were injured, but later updates from state TV raised the figure to at least 115.
“A number of containers stored at the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf exploded, and we are in the process of evacuating and transporting the injured to nearby medical facilities,” a local crisis management official told state television.
The head of the Red Crescent Society in Hormozgan province, where the port is located, said four rapid response teams had been deployed to assist at the scene. Iranian media reported that the blast shattered windows several kilometers away.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Shahid Rajaee is Iran’s most advanced container port, situated 23 kilometers west of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan province.
