Blast in Iran kills at least 17 soldiers

WASHINGTON - An explosion at a Revolutionary Guard ammunition depot west of Tehran on Saturday killed at least 17 soldiers, including a senior commander of the powerful military force, Iranian officials said.

Guard spokesman Gen. Ramazan Sharif said the blast resulted from an accident during the transport of munitions at the base. The site is outside Bidganeh village, 25 miles southwest of the capital.

"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," Sharif said.

At least 17 Guard members were killed, state TV reported. The report said 16 other soldiers were injured.

Earlier, Sharif had said that 27 soldiers were killed but he later retracted that, explaining that the error was due to an illegible fax from officials at the site. Among those killed was Hasan Moghaddam, a senior Guard commander.

Though the explosion occurred during a time of heightened tension with Israel and Western powers, Iranian 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 at the parliament's website.

An exiled Iranian dissident group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, claimed that the blast hit a missile base run by the Revolutionary guard rather than an ammunition depot.

Former MEK spokesman Alireza Jafarzadeh, citing what he called reliable sources in Iran, said the explosion hit the Modarres garrison of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.