Iranian media reports said yesterday that the huge blast that happened on Saturday at the Shahid Rajaee Port has so far claimed 40 lives and injured about 800 people.

IRNA, citing the public relations office of the Justice Department of Hormozgan Province, reports that the identities of 10 victims—8 men and 2 women—have been confirmed.

Following the incident, the officials of the province have declared three days of public mourning in the province.

Addressing Hormozgan crisis management meeting, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni reportedly said that all necessary measures have been taken, and President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued order in this regard.

According to IRNA, the blast occurred on Saturday, causing destruction in the surrounding areas and affecting some industries in western Bandar Abbas.

Located along the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormoz, Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran’s biggest container hub, handling almost 80% of the country’s container activities.

The strategic port can accommodate Panamax cargo ships with a capacity of more than 12,000 TEU. The port’s capacity is envisaged to increase to 8 million TEU when the construction operations are complete.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Defense Ministry has rejected reports by some media outlets that military cargoes were stored at the blast-hit port.   

According to Iranian media outlets, in an interview on Sunday, Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik dismissed rumors regarding the presence of military shipments at the port, describing such claims as “targeted misinformation and propaganda” spread by foreign media.

He reportedly added that this propaganda is part of the psychological operations carried out by enemies, which have been attempted in the past but consistently thwarted by the Iranian nation.

“Based on investigations and documented evidence, there were and are no import or export shipments related to fuel or military use in the area affected by the fire at the port,” Talaei-Nik was cited as saying by IRNA.

It is to be noted that some foreign media outlets reported that a massive explosion at the Iranian port could possibly be linked to missile fuel.

Thus, the Associated Press (AP) reported on April 27 that a massive explosion and fire rocked the Iranian port on Saturday purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant.