Iran’s capital awakened to loud explosions heard west of Tehran, in an area where military facilities and bases of the Revolutionary Guards are located.
The Iranian media reported on Friday morning a series of explosions heard west of Tehran, in an area where military facilities and bases of the Revolutionary Guards are located. The power supply was reportedly cut off in several cities in the area.
The reports published, among others, in Iran’s official media IRIB news agency.
Some of the reports claim that the center of the blasts was Revolutionary Guards missile warehouses. An Iranian official told the Al-Jazeera Network this morning that the source of the sounds was heard in tunnel mining work, during which explosives were used. An analyst told The New York Times there were underground military installations in the area.
The explosion came after a series of mysterious disasters hit military Iranian sites in recent weeks, leading to speculation that the incidents could be the result of a disruption engineered by Israel.
According to Iranian media reports, Tuesday, an explosion damaged a factory south of Tehran. Two people were killed and three injured in the blast at Sepahan-Bresh factory in Kahrizak district.
The district’s governor said the human error was responsible for the incident.
Earlier, on Saturday, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported a chlorine gas leak at a petrochemical center in southeast Iran sickened 70 employees.
Earlier, last Thursday, July 2, a fire broke out at an underground nuclear facility in Natanz – the main facility in the Iranian uranium enrichment program. Considerable damage was done to the scene.
A week before that, a huge blast was felt in Tehran, evidently caused by an explosion at the Parchin military complex. Analysts believe there were an underground tunnel system and missile production facilities.
In Iran, they conceded that this would significantly delay nuclear programs – pointing a finger at Israel.
The New York Times cited intelligence officials saying the fire at Natanz was sparked by Israel and was caused by a powerful bomb.
According to Israeli TV sources, the blast destroyed the laboratory, in which Iran developed faster centrifuges, set back the Iranian nuclear program between one to two years.
On Sunday Iran admitted that Natanz result “considerable” damage from the fire. It had previously sought to downplay the damage from the blaze, but experts said it had likely destroyed an above-ground lab being used to prepare advanced centrifuges before they were installed underground.
Read more about: Iran, Israel-Iran Nuclear War, Middle East
