Deadly explosions rock Revolutionary Guards base outside Iranian capital

Deadly explosions rock Revolutionary Guards base outside Iranian capital
State media reports several people killed after an ammunitions depot exploded in a base 40 kilometers west of Tehran.
By Reuters and The Associated Press Tags: Iran


At least one massive explosion at a military weapons depot near the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday killed several people and was felt at least 45 km miles away, local media reported

The Revolutionary Guards - Iran's elite military force - said a munitions store at a base in Bidganeh, near the city of Karaj, had exploded, according to a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.
Revolutionary Guard - AP - September 2011

In this Sept. 22, 2011 photo, members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard march just outside Tehran, Iran.
Photo by: AP

"Around noon today there was an explosion in one of the arsenals belonging to the Revolutionary Guards near Tehran," Fars quoted the statement as saying. Several people had been killed, Fars said, without giving further details.

The blast was so big it was felt in western suburbs of Tehran, 45 km away, witnesses told Reuters. Many assumed there had been a low-level earthquake. Some media reports said the initial blast was followed by a second explosion.

There were no reports linking the blast to any air strike or other attack. Tension has risen in recent weeks between Iran and its enemies Israel and the United States, which have not ruled out striking nuclear facilities they believe are working towards making atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

On Oct. 12 last year a similar blast at a Revolutionary Guards munitions store killed and wounded several servicemen in Khoramabad, western Iran. Authorities said that explosion was an accident.

In recent years several mysterious explosions took place in military installations in Iran. Two years ago 20 people were killed in a similar blast at a base 500 kilometers southwest of Tehran. According the Washington-based Global Security Institute, the base was used to assemble and store long-range Shihab-3 missiles.

Foreign media has reported in the past that the Israeli Mossad backs certain opposition activists and underground movements, and uses them to carry out attacks. Iran has blamed the CIA, Mossad and British intelligence in backing Jundollah (God's soldiers), a group which has waged a low-level insurgency in recent years. Its members accuse Iran's mostly Shi'ite government of persecution and have carried out attacks against the Revolutionary Guard and Shi'ite targets in southeastern Iran.





Iran threatens to hit back with 'iron fists' to any Israel, U.S. attack
Ayatollah Khamenei warns against military strike on Iran's nuclear sites, amid speculation about imminent attack on Iran after IAEA report on Tehran's nuclear program.
By Reuters Tags: Iran Iran nuclear


Iran's Supreme Leader warned the United States and Israel on Thursday not to launch any military action against its nuclear sites, saying it would be met with "iron fists", state television reported.

"Our enemies, particularly the Zionist regime [Israel], America and its allies, should know that any kind of threat and attack or even thinking about any (military) action will be firmly responded to," the television quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.
Iran - Reuters - October 15, 2011

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to his supporters before starting his speech in the province of Kermanshah, west of Tehran October 15, 2011.
Photo by: Reuters

"The Revolutionary Guards and army and our nation ... will answer attacks with strong slaps and iron fists," he said.

Speculation about an imminent attack on Iran was fuelled last week when Israel test-launched a long-range missile near Tel Aviv and by comments by some Israeli officials that Tehran's nuclear program posed a "direct and heavy" threat.

Tension rose on Tuesday when the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be conducting secret research.

Iran denounced the UN inspectors' report as "unbalanced" and "politically motivated".
Israel on Wednesday called on the world to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons while Western powers called for heavier sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The United States and European allies say Iran is trying to build bombs under cover of a civilian nuclear program. The major oil producer denies this, saying it needs nuclear technology to improve its electricity supply for a rapidly growing population.

Israel, which Iran refuses to recognize, sees a nuclear Iran as a threat to its existence and has said all options are on the table in confronting Tehran, including a military one. But it remains publicly committed to a world power strategy of increased diplomatic pressure and sanctions against Iran.