Massive explosion at Iran’s Rajaei port injures over 500 amid US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman

A massive explosion ripped through Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas on April 26, sending shockwaves across southern Iran and injuring at least 516 people. Visuals shared on social media showed thick black smoke towered into the sky as glass shattered kilometers away from the blast site, paralyzing one of the Islamic Republic’s busiest shipping hubs.

Social media videos captured scenes of chaos, with plumes of black smoke rising over the port and widespread damage to nearby buildings. Some clips showed glass blown out from structures kilometers away from the blast's epicenter.

Hours after the explosion, authorities had yet to confirm the cause. However, videos from the scene indicated that the material ignited was highly combustible.

Iranian state TV clarified that the explosion did not originate from energy infrastructure, nor was such infrastructure damaged in the blast.

Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, a provincial disaster management official, told Iranian state TV that first responders were still working to reach the affected area, while others focused on evacuating the site. Hasanzadeh stated the explosion stemmed from containers at the port but provided no further details.

There is also reports of a building collapse linked to the explosion.

Shahid Rajaei port, located approximately 1,050 kilometers southeast of Tehran, is a critical maritime gateway on the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply passes.

The incident unfolded as Iranian and US officials held a third round of nuclear program talks in Oman, adding a layer of tension to an already sensitive geopolitical moment.

The blast drew comparisons to the devastating August 4, 2020, explosion at the Beirut port in Lebanon, one of the largest nonnuclear blasts in history. That disaster, triggered by a fire in a warehouse containing improperly stored ammonium nitrate fertilizer, killed more than 220 people and injured at least 6,500 others, leaving much of Beirut in ruins.