Asia Times Online – The explosion at the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Al-Ghadir base in Bigdaneh (near Tehran) on November 12 which killed the architect of Iran’s ballistic missile programme has added fuel to widespread suspicions that Iran is under concerted sabotage attacks by Western and Israeli special forces and intelligence services.
Even though the Iranian government was quick to rule out sabotage and insisted the explosions were an accident, the steady leaking of Brigadier General Hassan Tehrani-Moghaddam’s hugely sensitive role in developing Iran’s ballistic missile programme, lends credence to the theory that the country’s enemies had a hand in the “accident” that killed at least 16 other IRGC personnel.
Reports on Iranian media – directly attributed to members of Tehrani-Moghaddam’s family or senior IRGC commanders – have speculated widely on the context and cause of the “accident”, with some reports suggesting that the pioneering IRGC commander was supervising the testing of an inter-continental ballistic missile, while others suggest he was testing a new ballistic surface to sea missile, presumably designed to attack American warships in the event of a war.
Yesterday there were unexplained explosions in the western Iranian city of Isfahan (home to Iranian nuclear facilities).
Original report of blast in Iranian city of Isfahan as appeared on Fars website, Nov. 28, 2011.
According to reports, frightened residents called the fire department after the blast, forcing the city authorities to admit there had been an explosion.Residents reported that their windows shook from the explosion’s force.
The government of Isfahan said that the explosion occurred as a result of a military drill, denying reports that the blast was somehow related to the nearby nuclear facility.
The explosion at the Al-Ghadir base – believed to be a depot for medium-range Shahab-3 ballistic missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers – comes on the heel of the assassination of key Iranian scientists and a ferocious cyber warfare programme directed at Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities and the wider nuclear establishment.
The Israeli government was quick to hint at possible involvement in the explosion with defense minister Ehud Barak cheerfully proclaiming “I don’t know the extent of the explosion. But it would be desirable if they multiply”.
If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.