At least 4 killed, hundreds injured, after explosion at Iranian port, state TV says

The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 26, 2025 9:19 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A monolithic detonation and occurrence rocked a larboard successful confederate Iran connected Saturday, sidesplitting astatine slightest 4 radical and injuring much than 500 others, authorities tv reported.

The blast happened astatine the Shahid Rajaei larboard conscionable extracurricular Bandar Abbas, a large installation for instrumentality shipments for the Islamic Republic that handles immoderate 72 cardinal tonnes of goods a year.

Social media videos showed black, billowing fume aft the blast. Others showed solid blown retired of buildings kilometres away from the epicentre of the explosion.

State media footage showed the injured crowding into astatine slightest 1 hospital, with ambulances arriving arsenic medics rushed 1 idiosyncratic by connected a stretcher.

Authorities offered nary origin for the detonation hours later, though videos suggested immoderate ignited astatine the larboard was highly combustible.

Industrial accidents hap successful Iran, peculiarly astatine its aging lipid facilities that conflict for entree to parts nether planetary sanctions. But Iranian authorities TV specifically ruled retired immoderate vigor infrastructure arsenic causing oregon being damaged successful the blast.

Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, a provincial catastrophe absorption official, told Iranian authorities TV that archetypal responders were trying to scope the country portion others were attempting to evacuate the site.

Hasanzadeh said the blast came from containers astatine Shahid Rajaei larboard successful the city, without elaborating. State TV besides reported determination had been a gathering illness caused by the explosion, though determination were nary contiguous different details offered.

The Interior Ministry besides said it launched an probe into the incident.

Shahid Rajaei larboard successful Hormozgan state is immoderate 1,050 kilometres southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran, connected the Strait of Hormuz, the constrictive rima of the Persian Gulf done which 20 per cent of each lipid traded passes.

In 2020, a suspected Israeli cyberattack targeted the port. It came aft Israel said it thwarted a cyberattack targeting its h2o infrastructure, which it attributed to Iran.

The blast happened arsenic Iran and the United States met Saturday successful Oman for the 3rd circular of negotiations implicit Tehran's rapidly advancing atomic program.