You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran explosion at Revolutionary Guards military base
2011-11-12
[BBC] Fifteen soldiers have been killed in a huge explosion at a military base near Iran's capital of Tehran, officials say.
"Ardeshir! Put out that stogey! We gotta move these weapons!"
The blast occurred when weapons were being moved inside a Revolutionary Guards depot, a spokesman for the elite unit told state TV.
"Nothin' to worry about, Your Enormity! It ain't like they're loaded! Who'd be dumb enough to move weaponry without unloading it first?"
Windows in nearby buildings were shattered and the blast was heard in central Tehran, 40 km (25 miles) away.
[KABOOM!]
A helicopter and ambulances have reportedly been sent to the scene.
"And hearses! Tell 'em we need hearses, dammit!"
Local MP Hossein Garousi said "a large part of an ammunition depot exploded," parliament's website reported.
Important safety tip here, folks: Safeties on, stogies out...
The Revolutionary Guards spokesman did not say what caused the blast in the village of Bidganeh, near the city of Karaj.
"I can say no more!"
"But you ain't said nuttin'!"
"Some of the casualties are reported to be in a critical condition," he said.
"Ardeshir! Ardeshir! Speak to me!"
[rattle]
Karaj resident Kaveer told the BBC's Newshour programme that the sound was "deafening".
That was how they could tell it was a kaboom...
"We were kind of shocked. I just ran out of the house and looked around," he said.
That's what I always do when something explodes down the road from me.
Posted by:Fred

#17  gromky: A nuke warhead of the type they would put on a SHAHAB-3 has a LOT of high explosive on it, and can give off a pretty impressive non-nuclear boom on its own.

All that would be needed to set one off is probably poor grounding. I wouldn't put it past the spooks to incorporate some component with the ability to generate a milli-amperage overload. Just as likely, the Iranians built a device that did it by itself.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-11-12 22:10  

#16   The base is home to the Fifth Raad Missile Brigade, which oversees Iran’s medium-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile.

Among those killed was Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, who held a rank parallel to brigadier general in the Revolutionary Guards. He is credited with the development of Iran’s missiles.
Posted by: Water Modem   2011-11-12 20:46  

#15  I agree the white could is a large liquid fuel rocket explosion but mounting a miniature nuke is a Debkagasm.
Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165   2011-11-12 20:27  

#14  video
Posted by: phil_b   2011-11-12 18:28  

#13  Bah, it wasn't a nuclear accident. Nuclear accidents don't go BOOOOOOM. They go "fzzt" and spew radiation everywhere. Wishful thinking.
Posted by: gromky   2011-11-12 18:19  

#12  If they were fueling a rocket, could well have been a dronezap.

Explosions at 2 separate bases is a hell of a coincidence.
Posted by: phil_b   2011-11-12 18:18  

#11  I've been suggesting for a while that what is really needed is for Iran to have a serious nuclear accident, in which a lot of Iranians are burned and killed, because the average Iranian on the street just does not have a concept of what nuclear weapons can do.

Explosions like these would be the perfect cover for someone to pump a whole bunch of nasty isotopes into the air in a metro area. And they would be long gone before they would be implicated.

This teaches us (the Iranians) that if you bluff and bluster about nuclear weapons and dirty bombs, you may very well get a taste of your own medicine. When westerners "play hurt", they mean it.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-11-12 18:10  

#10  Brig. Hassan Moghadam, head of Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) missile development and sections of its nuclear program, was killed in one of the two consecutive explosions that hit two IRGC bases 46 kilometers west of Tehran Saturday, Nov. 12.

well, one would suspect a release of specific radioactive material in such an explosion. I hope we are monitoring for it
Posted by: Frank G   2011-11-12 16:50  

#9  MKP?
Posted by: newc   2011-11-12 16:47  

#8  ...Inshallah munitions maintenance will do it every time.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2011-11-12 16:00  

#7  Debka is now saying that they were attempting to mount a nuclear warhead on a SHAHAB-3 missile.

There are several other interesting tidbits in the article.

Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-11-12 14:45  

#6  Now you know why they shouldn't be allowed to have nukes.
Posted by: Daffy Bucket4045   2011-11-12 13:41  

#5  Maybe they got some of the dodgy detonators we sold to the taliban...
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2011-11-12 13:41  

#4  After being revised upward to 27, the death toll is now set at 17 with 15 injured. Link
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-11-12 13:33  

#3  I bet they were using Russian arms storage protocols, which amounts to "put everything in a big pile and somebody will sort it out."

Worked real well at the Northern Sea Fleet depot in Riga. Our satellites at first thought a small nuke had gone off.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-11-12 12:08  

#2  The blast occurred when weapons were being moved inside a Revolutionary Guards depot...
Making room for the Pak nukes?
Posted by: Skidmark   2011-11-12 11:23  

#1  Lawmaker Parviz Soroori ruled out sabotage."No sabotage was involved in this incident. It has nothing to do with politics," Soroori was quoted as saying by the parliament's website, icana.ir.

Heh. Whatever you say, buddy...
Posted by: The MOSSAD   2011-11-12 10:46  

00:00