Huge explosion at gas storage facility lights up night sky over Tehran
- An explosion took place at an Iranian gas storage facility near the capital Tehran
- Defence ministry spokesman Davoud Abdi said there were no casualties
- The fire was brought under control but the cause of the blast is not yet known
A huge explosion at a gas storage facility has lit up the night sky bright orange over Tehran early on Friday morning.
The explosion took place at an Iranian gas storage facility by a sensitive military site near the capital of Tehran, a defence ministry spokesman told state TV today.
Videos and pictures posted on social media, that were picked up by local news outlets, showed an explosion with a bright orange flash followed by a large plume of smoke.
An explosion took place at an Iranian gas storage facility close to a sensitive military site near the capital Tehran (above) today
Defence ministry spokesman Davoud Abdi said the fire was brought under control and there were no casualties. He did not give any information about the cause of the blast
Defence ministry spokesman told state TV the blast happened at the gas storage facility in a ‘public area’ of Parchin, rather than at the military base.
Western security services believe Tehran carried out tests relevant to nuclear bomb detonations on the military site more than a decade ago, but Iran has denied this.
In 2014, the base was suspected to have been damaged by a fire or explosion. But investigations lead by the International Atomic Energy Agency were hindered due to a lack of access.
Abdi said the fire was brought under control and there were no casualties.
He did not give any information about the cause of the blast.