One dies in ‘industrial accident’ near Iranian military site

Iran’s nuclear program has been the target of sabotage, cyberattacks and assassinations that it has blamed on Israel.

This May 2012, left, and April 2012 montage of an explosives testing site at Parchin shows evidence of a clean up at the military facility 30km south east of Tehran

One person has been killed in an “industrial accident” near an Iranian military complex that has come under scrutiny by the UN nuclear watchdog.

“An industrial accident took place yesterday evening in one of the factories in the Parchin area, leading to the death of one person and injuries to another,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency said on Thursday. It gave no details of the cause of the accident.

The Parchin complex, southeast of Tehran, is alleged to have hosted past testing of conventional explosives that could be used to detonate a nuclear warhead, something Iran has repeatedly denied.

The site came under renewed scrutiny by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2015 when Tehran reached a deal with major powers under which it agreed to curb its nuclear activities under UN supervision in return for the lifting of inter­national sanctions. Iran had previously denied the IAEA access to Parchin, insisting it was a military site unrelated to any nuclear activities, but the agency’s then chief paid a visit.

In June 2020, a gas tank explosion in a “public area” near the complex shook the capital, 30km away, but caused no casualties. Iran’s nuclear program has been the target of a campaign of sabotage, cyberattacks and assassinations that it has blamed on arch-foe Israel.

Israeli leaders have repeatedly refused to rule out military action to prevent Iran developing an atomic bomb. Iran has denied any ambition to develop a nuclear weapon.

AFP