"The entire facility was destroyed and there is hardly any building left standing," the paper quoted a report made by Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington. The institute officials were quoted as saying that the blast occurred while rocket engineers were performing a volatile procedure with missile engine, indicating that Iran was working on the development of a new long range missile probably capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The report said it runs contrary to claim by Iranian officials that the accident has set back missile research work there by a few days. But the paper said it was impossible to determine from the images whether the explosion had been a simple accident or an act of sabotage. Iran has released no photographs of the blast damage as Tehran has become increasingly sensitive about its military capabilities as tensions mount with the West over its missile and nuclear programme.
Iranian military chief Hassan Firouzabadi had said that the blast occurred while researchers were working on weapons capable of delivering Israel a "strong punch in the mouth." He said their research would result in only a "short-term delay of a few days." But it was hard to reconcile his appraisal with the obliteration seen in the image.
The explosion is known to have killed 17 members of the armed forces, including founder of the country`s missile program Gen Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam. Iran`s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, presided over a vast state funeral for General Moghaddam and 16 other members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps two days after the explosion. The showy memorial service underscored General Moghaddam`s importance.