Brigadier General Hassan Moghaddam fatally injured in explosion
- Iranian authorities claim incident was 'an accident'
- Sources say Mossad was behind blast
- CIA has also been cited as having involvement
By LEE MORAN
Last updated at 1:09 PM on 14th November 2011
A senior commander of Iran's missile development programme has been killed in an explosion at a military base - prompting speculation that Mossad was involved.
Brigadier General Hassan Moghaddam was fatally injured in the blast, which killed 17 people in total, at a Revolutionary Guard compound 25 miles east of the capital Tehran.Iranian authorities have claimed the explosion was caused by 'an accident' when ammunition was being moved.
But Moghaddam's high profile has led to speculation it was an act of sabotage by the Israeli intelligence service - or even its American counterpart the CIA - which is trying to halt Iran's nuclear weapons programme.
It comes in the same week the son of a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander was found dead in a Dubai hotel room. His father's website has called the death 'suspicious' but police have insisted it was not.
Moghaddam was said to be responsible for 'industrial research aimed at ensuring self-sufficiency of the Revolutionary Guards' armaments'.
Commentators on Iran believe this is a coded way of saying he was responsible for its missile inventory. Richard Silverstein, who regularly reveals information censored inside Israel, said on his blog that a source confirmed Mossad had worked with exile group the People's Mojaheddin of Iran (MEK) on the blast.
He said: 'It is widely known within intelligence circles that the Israelis use the MEK for varied acts of espionage and terror.'
It is the latest 'disaster' to hit Iran's nuclear programme in the last two years. In 2010, 18 people were killed after an explosion at a base which housed Shahab-3 long-range missiles. It was also put down to a fire in an ammunition depot.
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Blast: Brigadier General Hassan Moghaddam was fatally injured in the blast, which killed 17 people in total, at a Revolutionary Guard compound 25 miles east of the capital Tehran
Blast: The aftershock of the explosion was felt for miles around
In the same year, a senior nuclear scientist was killed and another injured when their cars were attacked with 'sticky bombs' by men on motorbikes.
And a highly sophisticated computer worm which caused centrifuges used for enriching uranium to spin out of control was also blamed on the Israelis.
Mossad, which never claims responsibility for attacks, has been suspected of being involved in all of the incidents.
But Shahin Gobadi, a spokesman for the MEK, denied 'absolutely' that his group was involved and the explosion could be down to the Revolutionary Guard, which he said has a reputation for 'sloppiness'.
Revolutionary Guard spokesman Gen Ramazan Sharif said Saturday's blast also injured a further 16 people, and he denied further claims that the explosion happened as the Guard tried to fit a missile with a nuclear warhead.
He said: 'My colleagues at the Guard were transporting ammunition at one of the depots at the site when an explosion occurred as a result of an accident.'
The explosion comes a week after the release of an International Atomic Energy Agency report renewed calls inside Israel for a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
It focused partly on efforts allegedly being made to fit such a warhead on a missile, and claimed Iran has been working to acquire equipment and weapons design information, testing high explosives and detonators and developing compute models of a warhead’s core.
It is also in the same week that U.S. President Barack Obama said that economic sanctions against the country, aimed at halting the Iranian nuclear threat, were having 'enormous bite'.Obama, speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, added that he was united with Russian and Chinese leaders in ensuring Iran does not develop an atomic weapon and unleash an arms race across the Middle East.
He did not specifically say he would consider military action if Tehran were to persist in arming itself with a nuclear weapon.
Warning: U.S. President Barack Obama (left) said he was united with Russia and China in making sure Iran, whose President is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (right) does not achieve nuclear weapons
But he added: 'We are not taking any options off the table. Iran with nuclear weapons would pose a threat not only to the region but also to the United States.'Obama's stand came laced with presidential politics. Republican presidential contenders, including former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, have slammed Obama for not doing more to keep Iran from getting nuclear weaponry.
Responding to those criticisms, Obama said: 'Is this an easy issue? No. Anyone who claims it is is either politicking or doesn’t know what they’re talking about.'
In meetings on Saturday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao, Obama sought to rally support for putting new pressure on Iran’s regime.
But there was little public sign either country was ready to drop its opposition to additional sanctions through the United Nations. Obama insisted the countries are working on the next steps.He said: 'All three of us entirely agree on the objective which is making sure that Iran does not weaponise nuclear power and we do not trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.
'That’s in the interest of all of us. We will be consulting with them carefully over the next several weeks to look at what other options we have available to us.'
The U.S. has already slapped sanctions on dozens of Iranian government agencies, financial and shipping companies as well as officials over the nuclear program and could target additional institutions like Iran’s Central Bank.
The UN has imposed four rounds of sanctions that have caused economic hardship in Iran.
Obama added: 'The sanctions have enormous bite and enormous scope.'