BAGHDAD — Reports of an explosion in the province of Isfahan, home to one of Iran’s atomic facilities, add to a series of unexplained incidents that have raised suspicions of sabotage against the country’s nuclear program.
An explosion was heard in Isfahan at 2:40 p.m. Monday and an investigation is underway, the state-run Fars news agency said. Authorities later played down the report.
Gholamreza Ansari, head of the province’s judiciary, said he had heard the “blastlike sound” and it didn’t seem important. Mohammad-Mehdi Ismaeli, a deputy to Isfahan’s governor, said reports of a powerful explosion were unfounded. “Maybe somebody’s water heater exploded,” he told Mehr news agency.
The incident comes after the deaths of several people linked to Iran’s nuclear program, and amid rising pressure on Iran from the United States and its allies. Bloomberg News
