Sound of Blast Reported Near Nuclear Facility in Iran
The sound of an explosion was reported on Monday afternoon in the Iranian city of Isfahan, a city that is home to a key Iranian nuclear facility.
The blast occurred at 2:40 p.m., the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
Isfahan maintains one of Iran's largest facilities for refining uranium and is home to the most expansive research and development facility for ballistic missiles in the country.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The Iranian media offered contradictory information about the incident with the state run Press TV reporting that the story of an explosion was “completely baseless and fabricated.”
Allireza Zakeri, the provincial governor of Isfahan was reported as saying, "An explosion has happened in Isfahan."
Zakeri specified that the explosion was related to military activity and is "not particularly any problem."
Nevertheless, with the news of the possible explosion coming only weeks after another explosion at a military base outside of Tehran killed more than a dozen members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, some have been speculating that recent explosions in the country signal possible attempts to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran has argued that the Tehran explosion, which also killed the head of the country’s missile forces, was an accident and not a result of foreign interference.
Iran’s nuclear program has been the basis of much speculation and a recent International Atomic Energy Agency report has implicated the country in bomb building.
The country maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and not to build a bomb, however, Iran has warned that it would respond to any attacks on its nuclear system with “strong blows” and “steel fists.”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently reiterated his stance that Iran does not want nuclear weapons but would stand firm in its nuclear program.
Last week he told crowds gathered in southeastern Tehran, “when we say we don’t possess and we don’t want nuclear weapons, we mean it.”
“But you should know that if one day the Iranian nation decides to build an atomic bomb, it doesn’t fear you. It will bravely stand up and say it wants to build atomic bombs,” he added.
