Massive fire at Iran-Afghan border destroys oil tankers worth $50mn

A huge fire on the Iran-Afghan border on August 5 has destroyed more than 500 tankers and killed at least one Afghan driver, IRNA and Amu TV reported.

The fire at the Dogharoun Special Economic Zone has forced the closure of the Iran-Afghanistan border, marking the latest in a series of serious incidents along Iran's eastern frontier with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. This closure is particularly significant as Afghanistan heavily depends on Iranian fuel deliveries via tanker trucks for its survival. The country has been grappling with international isolation since the US withdrawal in 2022, making these cross-border supplies crucial to its economy.

Iranian and Afghan officials stressed that the fire and destruction of property was not foul play by third-party actors but an electrical fire from one of the poorly maintained trucks. 

Damages are believed to have cost more than $50mn, according to Afghan sources who had prepurchased the oil before delivery over the border area. 

Deputy governor of the city of Taibad, Mohammad Reza Rezaei, said three Iranian and one Afghan fuel tankers caught fire due to safety protocol violations in the zone at around 1:45 p.m. local time.

Maryam Qavidel, CEO of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), later told the media that the fire was caused by a combination of faulty electricals on one of the tankers, which caused the explosion. 

Fire brigades from nearby cities, including Afghanistan’s Herat, were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the fire. 

Firefighters in the area said the blaze was contained after two hours but flared up again after a short while for unknown reasons, forcing firefighters to return to the scene.

Videos of the incident show plumes of black smoke billowing over the border, and a lack of control over its spread may have caused severe damage to the border area. 

Assessments are underway to measure the amount of damage, but initial estimates suggest that the incident resulted in around $50mn in damages.

Dogharoun border is a crucial trade and exchange point between Iran and Afghanistan. The special economic zone was established in 2010 to facilitate bilateral exchanges.