9 injured in blast at explosives plant in central Iran

MAY 23, 2021 14:06

Some nine people were injured after an explosion was reported at the Sepahan Nargostar chemical and fireworks factory in the city of Shahin Shahr in the Isfahan province of Iran on Saturday night, according to Iranian media. The cause of the blast is under investigation.

According to the Iranian IRNA news agency, the factory is a producer of industrial and commercial explosive materials and is under the supervision of the National Security Council. The company produces various types of fireworks and gunpowder, as well as nitrate, sodium, potassium, strontium, calcium, copper and barium.

The explosion took place at about 3:36 a.m. local time (2:06 a.m. Israel time), according to IRNA.

Although Iranian media only reported the incident late on Sunday morning, social media users were already reporting overnight that they had seen and heard a large explosion in the area. Social media users stated that the explosion shook their windows and that they felt a shockwave.

It is unclear why Iranian media waited hours until reporting the incident.

The Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA), which produces a variety of aircraft for Iranian and pro-Iranian forces, is also located in Shahin Shahr, sparking speculation on social media that the explosion was related to HESA.

The factory is located about 95 km (59 mi) from the Natanz nuclear complex, where an explosion reportedly damaged thousands of centrifuges last month.

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The news of the explosion comes just days after Iranian officials reported major progress in negotiations on renewing the JCPOA nuclear deal, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announcing on Thursday that all parties to the talks have agreed to lift “all major sanctions” on Iranian oil, petrochemicals, shipping, insurance and the central bank.

“We have taken the main step and discussed the details; the main agreement has been reached. There are issues we are discussing to reach a final agreement,” added Rouhani, according to the Iranian Fars News Agency.

Last year, a series of explosions and fires hit industrial sites across Iran, including a number of petrochemical plants. Iranian officials referred to most of the cases as incidents or accidents, although some reports have claimed that at least some of the incidents involved foul play.

A number of the explosions last year reportedly took place at or near nuclear facilities, including the Natanz nuclear complex and a factory not far from the warehouse where Iran’s nuclear archive was found by Iran.

In some of the incidents last year which were linked with military or nuclear sites, Iranian media also waited hours before reporting the incidents and even reported the wrong locations. In one incident near Tehran, Iranian officials claimed that an explosion took place due to a gas tank in Parchin, despite later reports indicating that the explosion actually took place at a ballistic missile facility in Khojir.