Bidganeh arsenal explosion was a large explosion that occurred about 13:30 local time, 12 November 2011 in
Iran's Moddares
garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
missile base. The facility is also referred to as
Shahid Modarres
Shahid Modarres ( fa, شهيدمدرس, also Romanized as Shahīd Modarres) is a village in Esmailabad Rural District, in the Central District of Khash County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Rep ...
missile base,
[Mysterious explosions pose dilemma for Iranian leaders]
. ''The Washington Post''. 23 November 2011 and the
Alghadir missile base.
Seventeen members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed in this incident,
[Iran exile group claims blast near Tehran hit closely guarded missile base]
'' The Washington Post''. 13 November 2011. including Major General
Hassan Moqaddam, described as "a key figure in Iran's missile programme".
[Iranian missile expert killed in explosion]
''The Guardian'', 13 November 2011
The
Iranian Revolutionary Guard garrison is located in a village near
Shahriar city (Tehran Province) about 30 miles to the West of Iran's capital of
Tehran. Residents of
Karaj heard the sound of the explosion and breaking glass in buildings that were near the scene. Initial reports indicated that the explosion happened at a
CNG
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cyl ...
station, but this was later denied. Revolutionary Guard officials stated the accident occurred while military personnel were transporting munitions.
[ Officials have denied the possibility of any foreign sabotage in the explosion despite the "fivefold increase in explosions" since 2010 at Iranian refineries and gas pipelines reported by industry experts.][
According to CNN, senior defense officials indicated that the United States believed the explosion was an industrial accident which took place while mixing volatile fuel for a large ballistic missile. Commercial satellite imagery captured on November 22 showed extensive damage at the military base and some buildings appeared to have been completely destroyed.
]
Possible Israeli sabotage
According to an unnamed Western official quoted by '' Time'' magazine, the blast was no accident and there are "more bullets in the magazine", implying the explosion was deliberate. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
was asked about the explosion and replied, "May there be more like it."
See also
* Iran–Israel proxy conflict
References
{{Iran–Israel proxy conflict
Explosions in 2011
Explosions in Iran
History of Tehran Province
2011 industrial disasters
2011 in Iran
Iran–Israel proxy conflict