Hasan Tehrani Moghaddam

Iran: No way Israel involved in blast

Islamic Republic's deputy chief of staff denies Israel, US involvement in Tehran military base explosion last week. 'Mossad, CIA take credit for every natural or normal incident that happens,' he claims

Dudi Cohen|Published: 11.20.11 , 15:10

The Iranian army's deputy chief of staff, General Gholam Ali Rashid, said Sunday that the US and Israel's intelligence services could not have been involved in the blast that took place at a munitions depot near Tehran last week, which left 17 servicemen dead.

"The Mossad and the CIA take credit for every natural or normal incident that happens," he told Iranian Fars News Agency.

Rashid insisted that "neither the Mossad nor the CIA are capable" of being involved in the blast.

The Iranian general claimed that Israel has been taking credit for everything that has happened in Iran since the Islamic revolution of 1979. "They take credit for every natural incident that has ever happened over the past 30 years, from plane crashes carrying army personals to completely normal incidents," he remarked.

Blast in Iranian military base (Photo: AP)

Meanwhile, Iranian officials assert the blast, which killed some members of the Revolutionary Guards including senior commander Hasan Tehrani Moghaddam, was accidental and caused due to "transfer of ammunition."

Rashid denied western allegations claiming the Mossad was involved. "The Mossad, CIA or any intelligence units are incapable of doing anything like this, especially because Moghaddam was such a meticulous man and was very strict about security issues."

The general warned that if Israel strikes the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities, "We will use the power of the missiles that the martyr Hasan Tehrani Moghaddam created for us, and we will destroy Israel's central sites."

The former Revolutionary Guards leader Yahya Rahim Safavi cautioned that if Israel or the United States declare war against Iran, the latter will be the one to set the boundaries.

"Iran's response to any war would be overwhelming and unexpected," said Safavi. "Iran will be the only one to determine the battlefield's geographical boundaries," he added, hinting that Iran plans on expanding the war to other arenas, such as the Persian Gulf or even beyond the Middle East region.

American blogger Richard Silverstone was the first to claim last week that the Mossad was behind the Tehran blast. In his blog, Tikun Olam, Silverstone wrote that "an Israeli source with extensive senior political and military experience" informed him that the explosion "was the work of the Mossad in collaboration with the MEK (Iranian militant group Mujahideen e-Khalq)."

The following day, the Times Magazine reported that a western intelligence source told them he believes the Mossad was behind the blast. "Don't believe the Iranians that it was an accident," the official told the magazine.

The source also claimed more sabotage operations were in the works with the intention of hindering Iran's nuclear capabilities.

Meanwhile, most Israeli officials have avoided discussing the blast, except for Defense Minister Ehud Barak. In an interview with Army Radio, Barak said that he didn't know what caused the blast but added "the more the merrier."