WarSclerotic

Report: Iran blast caused by missile testing – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Brother of Gen. Hasan Tehrani Mogaddam, who was killed in explosion at ammunition depot last week, says blast occurred during testing of intercontinental missiles

News agencies

The brother of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander killed in an explosion at an ammunition depot west of Tehran last week has been quoted by a government daily as saying that the dead man was testing an intercontinental missile.

Gen. Hasan Tehrani Mogaddam was killed together with 20 other Guard members Nov. 12 at a military site outside Bidganeh village, 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Tehran. The Guard said the accidental explosion occurred while military personnel were transporting munitions.

But Mohammad Tehrani Moghaddam was quoted by the government-run “Iran” newspaper as saying that his brother was killed when the weapon exploded during testing. Iran says it has ruled out sabotage.

Moqaddam was one of the “cornerstones” of the artillery and missile units at the Revolutionary Guards during the Iran-Iraq war.

The officer reportedly served as a researcher at a Tehran university and headed the “Jihad Self-Reliance” unit, mostly tasked with developing arms and missiles.

Senior Guards member Mustafa Izadi published an article saying Moqaddam’s research helped the terror groups fight Israel.

Set up after the 1979 Islamic revolution to defend Iran against internal and external threats, the Guard is in charge of the Islamic republic’s missile program, including Shahab-3 missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) capable of hitting Israel.

Despite four sets of UN Security Council sanctions, Iran has refused to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.

This entry was posted on November 19, 2011 at 2:44 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.