Subhechcha Ganguly 
A powerful explosion rocked the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Saturday, killing four people and injuring more than 500 others, according to state media reports. Port operations were suspended as emergency crews worked to extinguish the fire.
The blast, which occurred after several containers exploded at the port’s wharf area, shattered windows several kilometres away. Videos circulating on social media captured a large mushroom cloud rising from the site.
A local crisis management official told state television that “many people were probably injured or even killed,” citing the high number of workers present at the port. Rescue operations are underway, and the injured are being evacuated to medical centres.
Located roughly 1,050 kilometres southeast of Tehran, Shahid Rajaee port sits along the Strait of Hormuz — a vital chokepoint for global oil trade, through which around 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply flows, according to the Associated Press.
The explosion comes amid sensitive ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States.
