Iran’s government declared Monday a National Day of Mourning following the deadly explosion at Rajaei port, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Sunday.
She said President Masoud Pezeshkian was personally overseeing the investigation into the incident. Hormozgan province, where Rajaei port is located, had earlier declared three days of mourning.
Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), is facing accusations of undermining the government’s diplomatic efforts with the United States, according to an analysis by KhabarOnline published on Sunday.
As indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington continue under the authorization of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, KhabarOnline said IRIB and its reporters have increasingly aired false claims and anti-diplomacy narratives, challenging the official diplomatic line pursued by President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration.
The analysis argues that since the election of the current government, the broadcaster has become a platform for opponents, using its platform to act against government decisions. This includes allegedly hosting critics of the US talks and disseminating unsubstantiated details of the discussions.
The analysis specifically mentions a state TV expert who reportedly drew a parallel between the Iran-US talks and the Northern Ireland peace process, suggesting the negotiations could lead to social divisions and even civil conflict in Iran.
KhabarOnline attributed the opposition within IRIB to figures close to Iran’s so-called hardline "shadow government," identifying Peyman Jebelli, the head of IRIB, and Vahid Jalili, brother of senior conservative politician Saeed Jalili, as key figures shaping the network’s editorial stance against the government.
Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad expressed solidarity with the Islamic Republic after the explosion at Rajaei port in Bandar Abbas.
Hamas said it stood with Iran’s "leadership, government, and people" and offered condolences to the families of the victims, as reported by the state media.
Islamic Jihad also extended its condolences to the Supreme Leader and people of Iran.
The explosion at Rajaei Port occurred in the yard of Sina Company, affiliated with Bonyad Mostazafan, a powerful economic conglomerate controlled by Iran’s Supreme Leader, parliament's National Security Committee member Ali Khezrian said on Sunday.
He questioned what safety improvements had been made since a 2019 incident involving a sunken Indian ship under Sina’s management.
Khezrian said it must be determined how much safety failure at the company contributed to the disaster and why preventive oversight was lacking.
The explosion on Saturday which has devastated Rajaei Port, the country's largest container port near Bandar Abbas, has halted 57% of the country's nominal loading and unloading capacity.
Although Iranian customs officials announced that some customs and transit activities have resumed, full port operations are still suspended pending the complete extinguishment of the fire.
Cleanup efforts are underway, with Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni saying that about 80% of firefighting operations had been completed by Sunday afternoon.
At least 28 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured.
The Ministry of Health has declared a state of emergency in Bandar Abbas, citing serious air pollution and the risk of chemical contamination. Authorities have also shut down all schools, universities, and government offices in the city as a precaution.
Rajaei Port processes about 85% of Iran’s container cargo and 52% of its oil product trade, according to the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization.
Over the past Iranian year (March 2024 - March 2025), the port handled over 81 million tons of goods — over half of Iran’s total maritime cargo traffic — and $29 billion of Iran’s $130 billion foreign trade.
In the container sector, Shahid Rajaee handles a dominant 77% of the country's nominal container capacity, equivalent to 6.65 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), out of 11 active container ports. The next largest, Bushehr, has a capacity of just 550,000 TEUs.
A rough estimation suggests that each day of disruption at the port potentially halts the movement of an estimated 221,000 tons of various goods, including 61,000 tons of containerized cargo and 75,000 tons of oil products.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. A source with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told the New York Times that the blast was triggered by sodium perchlorate, a chemical used in solid rocket fuel.
Less than a month before the explosion, reports indicated the arrival of the Jairan, an Iranian cargo ship linked to the transport of missile components from China to Bandar Abbas.
The Jairan, owned by the US-sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), delivered a cargo of sodium perchlorate to the port in late March, following a similar delivery by the MV Golbon in February, according to The Maritime Executive.
The substance is processed in Iranian facilities such as Parchin and Khojir to produce ammonium perchlorate, which constitutes 70% of the fuel for Iran’s solid-fueled ballistic missiles, including the Kheybar-Shekan, Fattah, Fateh-110, and Zolfaghar missiles.
On Sunday, an Iranian defense ministry spokesperson said that there were no military-use shipments among the import or export cargo at the port, adding that foreign media had been spreading rumors regarding the incident.
Iran’s moderate Ham-Mihan newspaper suggested sabotage was a likely cause, noting the coincidence of the blast with the resumption of expert-level talks between Iran and the United States.
Comparisons have been drawn between the Rajaei Port explosion and the 2020 Beirut port disaster. Lebanese authorities said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse with a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertiliser - commonly used for ammunition and explosives - which had been negligently stored for years.
Rajaei Port, ranked 59th among the world's major ports, is considered vital for Iran’s economy, with no immediate alternative to its vast cargo-handling capacity.
Iranian officials said a full assessment of the damage and a timeline for complete restoration would be announced after the fire is fully extinguished.