TEHRAN - President Masoud Pezeshkian traveled to Bandar Abbas on Sunday to visit Shahid Rajaee Port, where a massive explosion caused tremendous damage and fatalities on Saturday.

He paid a visit to a hospital and met individuals who were injured during the incident.

The President attended an extraordinary meeting of the provincial crisis management headquarters, which was held in the presence of ministers and relevant officials, to expedite the handling of the situation, compensate for the damages, and restore normal conditions to Shahid Rajaee Port.

Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, Transport and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh, and Red Crescent Society director Pirhossein Kolivand, are also present.

The explosion occurred at around 12.30 pm local time, leaving at least 28 dead and 800 injured, according to the provincial judiciary department.

The strategically important port lies around 15 kilometers southwest of the port of Bandar Abbas on the northern shore of the Strait of Hormuz.

The exact cause of the explosion has yet to be known. However, Fatemeh Mohajerani, the government spokeswoman, said some containers that had been stored at the port and contained chemicals had probably exploded.

Fatemeh Mohajerani, the spokeswoman for the government, declared Monday the day of mourning across the country.

Global leaders offer condolences, offer solidarity

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Palestinian resistance movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Afghan interim government, Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, leader of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement, the foreign ministries of Iraq, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Libya, South Korea, and Jordan expressed condolences and offered solidarity with Iranian people and government over the tragic incident.

Also, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko, Japanese Ambassador to Tehran Tamaki Tsukada, Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani, Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah, Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashit Meredow, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, and the Muslim World League sent messages of sympathy and condolences.