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TEHRAN — Iran’s official news agency said Wednesday that an explosion near the president’s convoy was just an excited fan setting off fireworks, denying earlier reports of an assassination attempt.

A fan set off a firecracker similar to those used during sports matches to express his excitement at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the western Iranian town of Hamedan, reported the IRNA news agency. The explosion near the president’s convoy had set off a flurry of media reports, including one that it was a handmade grenade.

The conservative Iranian website khabaronline.ir said a grenade exploded as the president’s convoy headed from the airport to the venue for the speech but did not harm him.

Eyewitnesses in Hamedan told The Associated Press that the explosion came from a firecracker.

“It was a firecracker, which made a sound and produced smoke near where I was standing,” Amin Mehrabi said. “Many people filmed it with their cellphone cameras.”

Iran’s deputy police chief, Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan, told the state news agency the reports about the explosion were “sheer lies” circulated by foreign media.

Ahmadinejad went on to give his speech as planned, and it was broadcast live on state television. He made no mention of the attack in his remarks, focusing instead on the country’s disputed nuclear program.

He struck a hard line against Western demands that Iran halt its nuclear activities. The U.S. and allies accuse Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons, but Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

“It will be one of your big mistakes if you think you, resorting to lies and hue and cry, are able to achieve something and we will give you any concessions,” Ahmadinejad told the crowd at the Hamedan stadium.

One person was arrested in connection with the alleged attack, the website report said, adding that Ahmadinejad’s car was about 100 yards from the blast. It also said there was no information on whether anyone was injured.

Ahmadinejad, whose popularity at home is waning amid a faltering economy and tightened U.N. and Western sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program, regularly tours the countryside to deliver speeches to grass-roots supporters.

Ahmadinejad also said Monday during a speech that Israel had sent agents to assassinate him, but he gave no details.

The accusation came a day after another conservative Iranian website, Mashreghnews.ir, reported that security forces had detained a terrorist group in Tehran that planned to assassinate officials. It linked the group to Kurdish separatists.