Iranian speaker rejects foreign media speculations on blast at IRGC base

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani dismissed baseless reports alleging that the Saturday afternoon blast at an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) base near Tehran was related to nuclear tests or transport of missile warheads."The enemies instead of showing (the realities of the) incident have concocted stories about it," Larijani told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony to commemorate the martyrs of the Saturday blast at an IRGC depot in the village of Bidgoneh, in the vicinity of Malard in the Northern Alborz province, some 40 kilometers to the West of the capital.He downplayed the importance of enemies' statements and stories on the incident, saying, "They continue their animosity with or without the occurrence of such incidents."After the blast, a senior official of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps announced that the strong blast occurred as the military personnel were moving a cache of ammunition at the base. "The blast happened during the transportation of ammunition," Head of the IRGC's Public Relations Office General Ramadan Sharif said on Saturday. Saturday's blast killed 17 people including General Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, who was described as one of the key figures in Iran's missile program. The IRGC has vowed to continue Moqaddam's "path."