Another unexplained explosion strikes Iran
Iranian soldiers march during an annual military parade which marks the Iran war with Iraq, in the capital Tehran on Sept. 22, 2011.
The Israeli newspaper Yeditoh Acharonoth is reporting a blaze in a refinery in the Iranian city of Isfahan, which was the site of an unexplained explosion in late November. The fire has reportedly caused leakage of coolant from a generator.
The Tel Aviv daily quotes the Iranian news agency Mehr as reporting that a state of emergency has been declared at the refinery, and that all power has been shut down. The initial report states that one man was injured and taken to hospital, and eyewitnesses are reporting flames and thick smoke blanketing the area.
The accident is the latest in a string of unexplained mishaps to plague strategic Iranian sites, including an explosion just last month in a uranium conversion facility also in Isfahan, in which an unknown number of people were killed.
Another blast last week at a steel factory in the city of Yazd left at least 18 dead.
If confirmed the latest blast will bolster the theory, gaining force in recent weeks, that the western world has embarked upon an undeclared, clandestine war against the ruling government of the Islamic Republic and its nuclear facilities, reminiscent of the novels of John le Carré.