TEHRAN, Iran

The death toll from a devastating explosion that rocked the sprawling Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran on Saturday has risen to eight, according to officials, with at least 750 others injured.

In an interview with the state broadcaster, Interior Minister Eskander Momeni, who is currently in the city of Bandar Abbas where the port is located, confirmed the rise in fatalities from five to eight.

Momeni said around 750 people were injured in the incident, of whom 212 were treated on an outpatient basis. The remaining were transferred to medical centers in Hormuzgan and neighboring provinces, he added.

Momeni said firefighters were working tirelessly to extinguish the fire, which remains the top priority following the completion of rescue operations.

He emphasized that all resources from other cities, including the capital Tehran, were dispatched to Bandar Abbas, and it is expected that the blaze would be contained within the next few hours.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a statement on X, expressed his sorrow and sympathy with the victims and issued an order to investigate the causes of the incident.

He said the interior minister had been sent to the region as his special representative “to conduct a thorough investigation into the dimensions of the incident, ensure necessary coordination, and attend to the condition of the injured.”

Earlier, in a directive, Iran’s Customs Administration ordered all customs offices to halt the dispatch of export and transit shipments destined for Shahid Rajaee Customs at Bandar Abbas until further notice.

According to local media, the fire broke out around 12 pm local time (08:30 GMT) at Shahid Rajaee Port, specifically in the container dock area. Initial reports suggested the presence of flammable materials near the site of the explosion.

Quoting witnesses, reports indicated that the minor fire quickly spread and triggered the explosion due to the 40 degrees Celsius heat and the accumulation of flammable substances.

In a statement, the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company clarified that the explosion and fire at the port are unrelated to the refineries, fuel storage tanks, or the distribution facilities and oil pipelines associated with the company.

The strategically important port, located in the southern Hormozgan province, lies about 15 kilometers southwest of the port of Bandar Abbas on the northern shore of the Strait of Hormuz.