A powerful blast occurred near Iran’s Gulf port of Daylam on Wednesday, Iranian television reported, as witnesses said they saw a missile being fired from an unidentified plane.
Local officials have been dispatched to the site to identify the cause of the blast in an uninhabited area in the south of the country, according to Arab-language television Al-Alam.
A government source told the television the explosion could have been the result of a fuel tank falling from an Iranian plane, contradicting the reports of a missile.
Iran is under intense international pressure over its nuclear activities, with the United States warning of possible military action.
Daylam is about 150km from Bushehr, where a controversial nuclear plant is being built with Russian help.
US media reports have said the US has been flying drones over Iran since April last year, seeking evidence of nuclear weapons programmes and probing for weaknesses in Iran’s air defences.
Iranian Intelligence Minister Ali Younessi confirmed on Wednesday the presence of ”American spying instruments” in the skies over Iran and warned that they will be hit. However, he spoke of satellites rather than spy planes.
Washington claims Iran’s nuclear programme is a cover for plans to build atomic weapons.
However, Iran has staunchly denied the allegations and the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, said in an US interview published on Wednesday that there is no evidence that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons.
But Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom claimed during a recent visit to London that Iran is six months away from having the knowledge to build a nuclear bomb. — Sapa-AFP