A massive explosion happened at Shahid Rajaei port in Iran killing at least five and injuring over 700 people, as announced by Babak Mahmoudi, the head of the country라이브 바카라 rescue organization, made the announcement on state television.
The blast happened at the Shahid Rajaei port just outside of Bandar Abbas, a major facility for container shipments for the Islamic Republic that handles some 80 million tons (72.5 million metric tons) of goods a year. Iran refused to reveal what caused the blast, although they did deny that the explosion had anything to do with the country's oil industry.
The blast happened at a time when Iran and the United States met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
What May Have Caused Iran Explosion?
According to Associated Press reports, the port took in a shipment of “sodium perchlorate rocket fuel” in March, the private security firm Ambrey said.
The fuel is part of a shipment from China by two vessels to Iran first reported in January by the Financial Times.
The fuel was going to be used to replenish Iran's missile stocks, which had been depleted by its direct attacks on Israel during the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"The fire was reportedly the result of improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles," Ambrey reportedly stated.
Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press put one of the vessels believed to be carrying the chemical in the vicinity in March, as Ambrey said. Iran hasn't acknowledged taking the shipment, as per reports.
On Saturday night, the state-run IRNA news agency said that the Customs Administration of Iran blamed a “stockpile of hazardous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area" for the blast, without elaborating.
Social media videos showed black billowing smoke after the blast. Others showed glass blown out of buildings kilometers (miles) away from the epicenter of the explosion.
Industrial accidents happen in Iran, particularly at its aging oil facilities that struggle for access to parts under international sanctions.
Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, a provincial disaster management official, told Iranian state TV that first responders were trying to reach the area while others were attempting to evacuate the site.
Hasanzadeh said the blast came from containers at Rajaei port in the city, without elaborating. State TV also reported there had been a building collapse caused by the explosion, though there were no immediate other details offered.
Rajaei port is some 1,050 kilometers (652 miles) southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran, on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil traded passes.
(With Associated Press inputs)
