Over 400 Reportedly Wounded in Port Explosion in Southern Iran's Bandar Abbas
The explosion occurred as the U.S. and Iran resumed nuclear talks in Oman, at a port that was reportedly targeted in an Israeli cyberattack in 2020 ■ Trump said Friday that he would not be 'dragged in' to an Israel-Iran war
A powerful explosion occurred on Saturday at Shahid Rajaei port in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, wounding over 400 people, according to Iranian media reports. The port was reportedly targeted by an Israeli cyberattack in 2020.
Footage of the blast in the port, located on the Strait of Hormuz, circulated on social media. Iranian state television reported that wounded individuals were transported to hospitals following the explosion.
According to Iran's Customs Administration, the explosion is believed to have occurred in a chemical storage area located in the port grounds, Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen reported.
The Iranian fuel company announced that the explosion did not affect energy facilities in the country. The blast occurred as the third round of talks between Iran and the United States on a nuclear agreement are taking place in Oman's capital, Muscat.
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about the possibility of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragging him and the United States into a war with Iran."He may go into a war, but we're not getting dragged in," Trump said. "I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal."
Trump reiterated statements he has made several times recently that an attack on Iran is a possible scenario and added that he did not say no to an Israeli strike. "Ultimately, I was going to leave that choice to them, but I said I would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped." When asked if he would be willing to meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Trump replied: "Sure."
In 2020, the Washington Post reported that Israel was behind a cyber attack on Shahid Rajaei port. According to the report, the attack occurred on May 9 and disrupted port traffic for several days.
U.S. and other official sources told the Post at the time that they suspected the attack on the port was carried out in retaliation for Iran's attempt to carry out a cyber attack on water facilities in Israel. The Israeli embassy in Washington did not respond to the report.