WANA ( Apr 27) – The Shahid Rajaee Port Complex, known as the beating heart of Iran’s trade, resumed full operations in less than 24 hours thanks to the efforts of relevant agencies and authorities, ensuring no disruption to the export, import, or transit of goods.

 

Following an explosion at one of the docks on Saturday, April 26, which triggered fires in parts of the Shahid Rajaee port and spread to some container and bulk cargo piers, senior officials — including the head of Iran’s Customs Administration, the acting head of the Ports and Maritime Organization, and the Ministers of Interior and Roads and Urban Development — immediately arrived at the scene. Extensive efforts were launched to contain the fire and restore cargo handling operations.

 

Thanks to these swift actions, Iran’s largest commercial, transit, and container port resumed its export, import, and transit activities by Sunday morning. At 9:00 AM, Roads and Urban Development Minister Farzaneh Sadegh announced that cargo loading, unloading, and other operations across various zones of Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas were once again running smoothly.

A helicopter extinguishes fire during an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, April 26, 2025. Mohammad Rasoul Moradi/IRNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

Shahid Rajaee: Iran’s Largest Commercial Port

With an annual handling capacity of over 88 million tons of goods, Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran’s most important port and the second largest in the region. It serves as a crucial gateway for Iran’s exports and imports and is a key node in the North-South Transit Corridor.

 

The Shahid Rajaee Special Economic Zone alone manages over 50 privately operated terminals and storage areas, handling 70% of Iran’s goods transit, 58% of non-oil operations, 43% of oil operations, and about 85% of the country’s containerized cargo activities.

 

Handling nearly 100 million tons of cargo annually, Shahid Rajaee Port is responsible for more than 55% of Iran’s exports and imports, 70% of port transit operations, and 90% of the country’s container cargo. Any disruption in its customs and port activities could severely impact Iran’s trade and production. Therefore, from the moment the incident occurred, all relevant organizations, especially the Ports and Maritime Organization and the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, prioritized restoring operations.

 

Essential Goods Relocated to Other Silos

Although Shahid Rajaee Port handles only about 8% of Iran’s essential goods, with the majority managed through Imam Khomeini Port and partially through ports in the north like Amirabad, Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh announced that essential goods stationed at Shahid Rajaee have been transferred to other silos. Meanwhile, cargo ships awaiting unloading were redirected to Imam Khomeini Port to ensure a steady supply of vital commodities.

Customs Chief Directs Operations at Exit Gate

After visiting the damaged docks and checking on the injured, Iran’s Customs Chief Faroud Asgari personally oversaw the clearance of priority goods from Sunday morning, stationed at the exit gate of Shahid Rajaee Port.

 

A special meeting of Iran’s Customs technical and support team was also held to restart customs procedures at the port’s import exit gate. Following a thorough infrastructure review, Asgari authorized the immediate resumption of fast-track customs processing for essential goods and production-related cargo.

 

Additionally, customs clearance for foreign transit goods, exports, and imports has resumed at Shahid Rajaee Port, with Iran’s Customs Administration set to officially announce the full reinstatement of customs procedures across all categories later today.

 

Latest Updates from the Customs Chief

Faroud Asgari, Deputy Minister of Economy and Head of Iran’s Customs Administration, provided the latest update: “Following the incident at Shahid Rajaee Customs, our teams — including support, technical, and IT units — quickly arrived on the scene and have been active since yesterday,” he said.

 

He added, “Today, we restarted customs clearance operations for both domestic and foreign transit, exports, and essential goods. The Customs is fully operational, and we assure the public and traders that they can now proceed with customs procedures as before via the comprehensive customs system. Our staff are deployed and are providing services just like before.”