Major Iranian Port Paralyzed: 700 Injured, 5 Dead After Massive Explosion

Update (1338ET):

Iranian state-owned news media Press TV reported that at least four people died and 700 were injured after a fuel tanker exploded for unknown reasons at Shahid Rajaee port in Hormozgan Province.

A separate report from the Associated Press said the explosion that rocked Iran’s second-largest container port—located on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint—originated from containers reportedly linked to chemical ingredients linked to missile propellant.

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 explosion at the port. The outlet did not provide details on the chemical ingredients.

In this aerial footage of the Iran port explosion there are three locations- with some distant from one another- burning. Iran says investigations are pending. pic.twitter.com/44dNYYE1Gz

— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) April 26, 2025

With one of Iran’s largest commercial ports paralyzed, the economic disruption could be devastating for Tehran:

Trade Disruption:

• Shahid Rajaee handles 85% of Iran’s total cargo traffic.

• Disruption would effectively spark supply chain disruptions for Iran’s import-export economy, causing shortages of consumer goods, industrial equipment, food, and medicines.

• Iran’s limited alternative ports (like Chabahar) would have trouble absorbing even a fraction of that volume quickly.

Oil and Fuel Export Disruption

• The port is a major terminal for refined oil products (gasoline, naphtha, gas condensate, etc.).

• Iran already faces sanctions on crude oil; losing its refined product export capacity would cut off a key source of hard currency.

• This would intensify Iran’s already precarious foreign exchange crisis, sending the rial lower.

With Shahid Rajaee Port in chaos and closed, the question now is: What will be Tehran’s economic fallout?

Also keep in mind, this blast occurred just as Iran and U.S. officials wrapped up the third round of negotiations in Oman’s capital of Muscat. 

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At least 500 people were injured after a massive explosion rocked Iran’s largest and most strategically significant maritime hub in the southern Hormozgan Province on the Strait of Hormuz. 

Iranian state media outlet Tasnim reported that the blast occurred on Saturday at the Shahid Rajaee Port. The outlet said, “The port remains in a state of chaos,” and many buildings have been destroyed. 

#Iran Emergency Department spokesperson: The number of injured from Shahid Rajaee Port explosion reaches 516. https://t.co/h0FIYU3eaR pic.twitter.com/OL7HWMqrOD

— Iran Nuances (@IranNuances) April 26, 2025

Visual confirmation that the explosion at Rajaiee port of #BandarAbbas took place in a previously known depot of Bana Gostar company which the #IRGC Quds Force had often stored ammunition and explosive material in containers prior to be exported to its proxies from #Iran. https://t.co/3FQTdWvrjI pic.twitter.com/4WG9bSO6QC

— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) April 26, 2025

Tasnim reported that a fuel tank had “exploded for an unknown reason,” and port operations had been shuttered. A report from the state media outlet IRIB stated that the explosion occurred in the port’s chemical and sulfur area. 

Footage shows the moment a powerful blast struck Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas.

Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the explosion at Iran’s southern port:https://t.co/oNw2zJ2IAl pic.twitter.com/TguPLizIbB

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 26, 2025

BREAKING | A massive explosion has been reported at the Port of Shahid Rajaee, one of two sections within the Port of Bandar Abbas, located on the north shore of the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.

According to Mehr News Agency, a fuel tank in the port exploded due to unknown… pic.twitter.com/vN8r4yHyCT

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) April 26, 2025

Designated as a Special Economic Zone, Shahid Rajaee Port handles about 85% of Iran’s total port cargo operations. Its annual capacity is about 70 million tons, including 6 million TEUs of containerized cargo. The port spans 2,400 hectares and features 40 berths and 19 hectares of warehouses.

The port also serves as a critical node for Iran’s oil exports, equipped with docks that can accommodate large tankers. These facilities enable the annual export of around 34 million tons of oil products, including gasoline, naphtha, gas condensate, marine fuel, and mazut. 

At the same time, Iran and U.S. officials began the third round of negotiations in Oman’s capital of Muscat about the fate of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Here’s more color on the second round.

The negotiations aim to suppress Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the U.S. lifting some economic sanctions it has imposed on the Islamic Republic. 

President Trump has threatened to launch airstrikes targeting Iran’s critical infrastructure if a deal is not reached. 

Last month, the U.S. began deploying stealth bombers to Diego Garcia—often referred to as Washington’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier”—located between Africa and Indonesia, about 1,000 miles south of India. The island serves as a critical launch point for stealth bombers in the event of a war with Iran. Staging the bombers on the island, well within striking distance, has made Tehran deeply uncomfortable.

Let’s take a step back to an October op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, penned by David Asher—a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former U.S. State Department official who worked on counterterrorism operations in the Middle East—who advocated for neutering the Iranian regime’s “oil-export capacity to deprive the regime of its financial lifeblood.” 

Any event on the critical maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz—such as an explosion at a major port—could spark uncertainty among energy traders and push Brent crude futures higher on Sunday evening.