The Iranian government confirmed a media ban on coverage regarding last week's explosion at Rajaei port in Bandar Abbas where at least 70 people have died and more than 1,000 injured, with the threat of prosecutions confirmed by the judiciary.
Fatemeh Mohajerani, Iran's government spokeswoman, said the decision is aimed at “maintaining a single voice across state institutions.”
She described the directive not as a news blackout, but as a mechanism to “manage the issue properly.”
“The government is not interested in withholding information from the people,” she said, adding that provincial bodies have been instructed not to release information about the explosion’s cause until further notice.
Iran International reported earlier this week that journalists and outlets had received warnings about covering the incident, and described a heavy security presence in Bandar Abbas.
Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said on Wednesday that legal cases have been opened against several media figures for reporting on the blast, with warnings issued to individuals on social media.
Mizan, the judiciary’s official news agency, reported that violators of the media ban would face prosecution for “spreading illegal news.”
“An incident of this scale, with such casualties, demands precise and documented investigation,” he said. “We are waiting for the results to be finalized and announced." Jahangir said.
On Tuesday, The Guardian quoted a Tehran-based reporter speaking on condition of anonymity, who said, “Not only were we warned against ground reporting, we were also banned effectively from sharing reports on social media.”
“In the face of a tragedy such as this, what is there to hide? Either the death toll is way more than 70, or they are suppressing the real cause of the explosion. Following the filing of charges, our newsrooms are also self-regulating in fear that they’ll be facing legal consequences.”
No official casualty figures have been released by the health ministry, which, along with its subsidiaries, was ordered on Sunday to withhold all related information.
Iran International has been contacted independently from a worker at the port citing 29 deaths in one office alone.
The explosion which has devastated Rajaei port, the country's largest container port, has halted more than half of the country's nominal loading and unloading capacity.
The satellite images reveal that the Sina yard, the blast's epicenter which could hold between 12,000 and 20,000 twenty-foot containers, has been completely destroyed.
The area is operated by the US-sanctioned Sina Marine and Port Services, a subsidiary of the Mostazafan Foundation.
The foundation, a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate also sanctioned by the United States, is controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and has close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Some images are partly obscured due to the massive smoke caused by the blast.
1- Sina yard: 15 hectares
Satellite imagery shows that Sina yard, covering around 15 hectares, has been entirely leveled. Shattered containers are clearly visible in the images. The yard lies approximately 800 meters from the exit and gate control and about 1,400 meters from the first dock.
The administrative building of the Sina Marine and Port Services Development Company, located on the northwestern side of the yard, has been completely demolished.
2- Khazar Qeshm Company: 10 hectares
To the east of the Sina yard lies the Khazar Qeshm Company area, covering 10 hectares, which has also been almost completely destroyed. The company’s warehouse roof, about 500 meters from the explosion’s epicenter, has completely collapsed.
3- Rajaei port customs office: 5 hectares
South of the Sina yard are the administrative buildings of Rajaei port. Satellite images show that destruction extends up to 300 meters into the parking area.This zone had been evacuated, and scattered debris is visible.
Images show that the roof of a building 400 meters from the blast center has also collapsed in the administrative area.
4- Onik area: 500 meters from blast
Explosion damage is visible 500 meters north of the Sina yard, in the Onik yard.
5- Hazardous materials zone: 1,300 meters away
According to a map released by Rajaei port, the designated area for storing hazardous materials—marked as zone 5—is about 1,300 meters from the explosion center. No destruction is observed in this hazardous materials zone.
6- Petroleum product storage tanks
The distance from the Sina premises, the site of the explosion, to the petroleum product storage area and tanks marked as No. 6 in the image is only about 1,000 meters. Had the fire spread to this area, the scale of the explosion could have been far more catastrophic.
The incident occurred at the Ava Nar Parsian Chemical Industries warehouse in the Meymeh district of Isfahan province, according to the provincial crisis management office.
Emergency services and firefighters were dispatched to the site. No official cause has been announced.
The blast comes amid a wave of explosions across Iran, including a deadly fire at a fuel depot in Zahedan on Monday that killed one person and critically injured two others, according to the local rights group Hal Vash.
Over the past four days, at least 73 people have been reported killed in similar incidents nationwide, including 70 killed in Saturday’s massive explosion at Rajaei port in the southern city of Bandar Abbas.
The site of Tuesday’s blast, Ava Nar Parsian, according to its website, manufactures fireworks and gunpowder and operates under the supervision of Iran’s National Security Council—the country’s highest decision-making body on security matters.
However, investigations by Iran International suggest the company may also be linked to Iran's security and military apparatus.
One of Ava Nar Parsian’s top executives, Damoun Beheshtnejad, previously held a managerial position at Nargostar Sepahan, another chemical facility in Isfahan that was the site of a major explosion in June 2021.
At the time, British newspaper The Guardian reported that the complex housed the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA), a key player in the Islamic Republic’s drone program.
According to official company filings, certain decisions at Ava Nar Parsian fall under the authority of the "Intelligence Protection Organization for Weapons and Ammunition Management of Isfahan Province." The company is licensed to produce, trade, import, and export commercial, industrial, and chemical explosives.
