Hundreds injured: Massive explosion rocks Iranian port, drawing comparisons to Beirut blast

Report by Yazbek Wehbe, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

It felt like an earthquake — that was the initial sensation reported by residents of Bandar Abbas before they heard a powerful explosion followed by a massive black cloud rising into the sky south of their city.

The blast immediately reminded many of the Beirut port explosion five years ago.

The explosion occurred at the strategic Shahid Rajaee Port, located near the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Arabian Gulf, about 14 kilometers southwest of Bandar Abbas and roughly 1,000 kilometers from the capital, Tehran.

Iranian state television quoted an official from the Ports and Maritime Organization in Hormozgan province as saying the explosion took place in a warehouse storing flammable materials at the city’s customs area. 

Efforts to extinguish the fire, involving helicopters, continued for several hours.

The blast resulted in hundreds of injuries, with the wounded transferred to hospitals in Bandar Abbas. Authorities declared a state of emergency in the city.

Windows in buildings and cars shattered several kilometers away, and there was extensive damage to port facilities, where dozens of containers were either destroyed or burned by the force of the explosion.
 
Given that Israel has repeatedly threatened to target Iranian facilities, speculation initially pointed toward Israeli involvement. However, Israel’s Maariv newspaper quoted military officials as saying the Israeli army had no connection to the explosion.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian dispatched his interior minister to Bandar Abbas as a special envoy to assess the situation and ordered a detailed investigation into the blast.