A massive explosion at a port in southern Iran on Saturday killed at least eight people and injured more than 700, according to state media.
The exact cause of the blast at the Shahid Rajaee port in the city of Bandar Abbas was not immediately clear, but the Iranian authorities did not suggest it was sabotage or a deliberate attack.
The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency quoted an official as saying the explosion was likely set off by containers of chemicals that caught fire. It sent up immense clouds of black smoke, according to footage from the scene distributed by an Iranian broadcaster and video from social media that was verified by The New York Times.
The security firm Ambrey told The Associated Press that there were indications that the explosion involved missile fuel stored at the port. The Financial Times reported in January that China had shipped propellant to Iran, whose stocks were depleted last year when it and its proxy, Hezbollah, launched missiles at Israel.
Videos showed the fire still spreading through the sprawling port complex on Saturday night, several hours after the initial explosion. Shahid Rajaee is Iran’s largest entry point for imports, and severe damage to it could further weaken the country’s struggling economy.
Iran’s heath ministry, citing airborne toxic pollutants, declared a state of emergency in Hormozgan province, asking people to stay indoors, keep windows closed and wear masks.
Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president, said the country’s interior minister was heading to the region to oversee an investigation into the explosion. He expressed “deep sorrow and sympathy” for the explosion’s deadly toll.
Bandar Abbas is strategically located along the Strait of Hormuz, where the Persian Gulf meets the Gulf of Oman — a busy shipping lane for the world’s oil and natural gas.
In 2020, Israel launched a cyberattack that hampered operations at the Shahid Rajaee port as part of its long-running shadow war with Iran. Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday’s explosion.
But in an apparent attempt to rebuff rumors of Israeli involvement, the office of the Iranian attorney general issued a statement denouncing “online activists” who spread rumors that undermined the “psychological security of society.”
The explosion came around the time that American and Iranian officials began meeting in Oman on Saturday for a third round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Last week, The New York Times reported that Israel had planned to attack Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month, but it was waved off by Mr. Trump, who wanted to negotiate an agreement with Tehran instead. But Mr. Trump has also vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, including by military action if necessary.
