State TV said at least four people were killed and hundreds were injured after the explosion at the Iranian port.
According to state television, the massive explosion and fire shocked the port in southern Iran on Saturday, killing at least four people and injuring more than 500 others.
The explosion occurred at the Shahid Rajaei port outside Bandar Abbas, the main facility for container transport in the Islamic Republic, which handles about 72 million tons of goods each year.
Social media video shows black and rolling smoke after the explosion. Others showed glass away from the building from the epicenter of the explosion.
State media footage showed the injured crowd at least one hospital was crowded, and ambulances arrived as medical staff drove a person to a stretcher.
The authorities did not mention the cause of the explosion after a few hours, although the video suggested that anything lit on the port was very flammable.
Industrial accidents occurred in Iran, especially in its aging petroleum facilities, which are striving to win parts under international sanctions. But Iran’s state television specifically excludes any energy infrastructure that causes or damages in the explosion.
Provincial disaster management official Mehrdad Hasanzadeh told Iran state television that first responders are trying to reach the area while others are trying to evacuate the site.
Hassanzad said the explosion came from the container at the city’s Shahid Rajaei port without details. State TV also reported that the building collapsed due to the explosion, despite no other details being provided immediately.
The Ministry of Home Affairs also said it began an investigation into the incident.
The port of Shahid Rajaei in Hormozgan province is located about 1,050 km southeast of Tehran, the capital of Iran, and is located in the Hormuz Strait, a narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, and 20% of all oil transactions pass.
In 2020, Israel’s cyberattack targeted ports. Israel said it foiled cyberattacks against water infrastructure, thanks to Iran.
The explosion occurred after Iran and the United States negotiated a rapid advance of Tehran’s nuclear plan in the third round of negotiations held in Oman on Saturday.
