Iran port explosion caused by chemicals catching fire, videos show

Iran port explosion caused by chemicals catching fire, videos show

Washington Post-May 2nd2025

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The explosion on Saturday that killed at least 70 people and injured more than 1,000 others at an Iranian port was caused by a chemical fire that began in a shipping container, according to visual evidence and explosives experts.

Surveillance video, first published to X on Tuesday and verified by The Washington Post, captures a fork lift driving into and then out of the shipping container. Within moments, flames appear inside the container, spreading quickly as smoke billows. Around 90 seconds later, a large blast erupts, sending flames and debris throughout the port in Bandar Abbas.

Gareth Collett, a retired British Army Brigadier, who specialized in counter-terrorist bomb disposal and holds a doctorate in explosives engineering, said the video could “depict confined storage of an oxidizer” — a term used to refer to hazardous materials that react easily, and contain their own oxygen, which would keep a fire going.

Mohammad Jamalian, a legislator and member of the Iranian parliament’s health and medical commission, told the local news outlet ILNA on Tuesday that the company importing the chemicals incorrectly declared the chemicals the forklift was carrying as low-hazard materials.

“We reviewed the footage of the incident,” he said. “Because the forklift driver thought the material was low-risk, he moved the bags without caution, which created a spark and led to the explosion. We asked the injured witnesses, and they mentioned exactly the same thing.”

The Post reviewed more than 90 videos, analyzed satellite imagery, interviewed eyewitnesses and spoke to chemical, blast and port safety experts to better understand what happened. Four explosives experts who reviewed videos of the incident at The Post’s request said the incident was likely caused by a violent chemical reaction that resulted in a fire and led to the explosion.

The color of the smoke indicated that nitrate-containing compounds, or perchlorates were present at the site of the explosion, they said. Perchlorates and some nitrates can be used for rocket fuel, three experts said, but also have domestic uses in large quantities, like fertilizer. Both burn quickly in dry, dense, hot conditions like those created inside shipping containers.