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Iran’s interior minister has confirmed that negligence and safety lapses contributed to the massive explosion and fire at Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, the country’s largest container terminal. The disaster, which occurred on Saturday, has so far claimed at least 70 lives and injured over 1,000 people.
Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni stated that the incident was the result of “shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence.” He added that individuals believed to be responsible have been summoned for investigation.
According to customs officials, the explosion originated from imported cargo that caught fire. However, the cargo had not been officially registered or declared, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (Isna) reported.
The Iranian defence ministry has firmly denied international reports suggesting the cargo involved contained missile fuel chemicals. In particular, speculation that the blast was caused by sodium perchlorate—a solid fuel used in ballistic missiles—has been dismissed as “fake news” by Defence Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Reza Talai-Nik. He emphasized that no military-related shipments were present at or near the site of the incident.
The head of the Sina Marine and Port Services Development Company, which operates the affected section of the port, attributed the catastrophe to a “repeated and catastrophic error involving false declarations of hazardous goods.”
Efforts to control the blaze have nearly concluded, according to Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, the head of crisis management for Hormozgan province. Meanwhile, Governor Mohammad Ashouri Taziani said that clean-up operations may take several more days, with full restoration of the port’s operations expected to take one to two weeks. He estimated that about 1,500 hectares—or nearly two-thirds—of the port area suffered severe damage.
Despite official denials, Ambrey Intelligence, a maritime risk consultancy, told the Associated Press that the port had received a shipment of sodium perchlorate last month and that the explosion reportedly resulted from improper handling of the substance. The New York Times also cited an anonymous source linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who claimed the same chemical caused the blast.
