Latest report in The Times.
Iran hit by latest in series of explosions
The Iranian capital has been hit by another in a series of explosions, with the latest blast reportedly at a missile plant to the west of Tehran. The explosion was heard in the western suburbs in the early hours of this morning and was powerful enough to knock out electricity supplies in two areas where it is known there are military facilities.
Iran has been struck by a series of explosions and disasters in the past three weeks, including one that destroyed a key unit of its main uranium enrichment plant. The authorities believe that may have been the result of a bomb planted by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. The head of Mossad, Yossi Cohen, has been accused of leaking confirmation to a journalist.
However, Israeli sources have played down the country’s possible involvement in other incidents, which included a fire at a power station and an explosion at another missile plant, east of Tehran. Iran regularly suffers accidents to its infrastructure, including parts with no military application, owing to the difficulty of maintenance while under western sanctions.
The sound of the latest blast was reported as coming from near Garmdareh, a suburb on the edge of west Tehran on the road to the city of Karaj. There are known to be Revolutionary Guard sites in the area. Several early reports said that the explosion had been in a missile storage facility or similar. The mayor of Garmdareh was quoted as saying there had been an accident at a “gas canister workshop”.
Israeli defences are on alert after there were threats of retaliation by Iran if reports of the attack on the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz last Thursday turned out to be true. That blast was reported to have put back Iran’s nuclear programme by a year.
Israel has been attacking Iranian militias across Syria extensively in recent years.