Blast at power plant in Iran's central Isfahan province
State media blame a faulty transformer for the latest explosion to hit the country
July 19, 2020
An explosion occurred at a power plant in central Iran's Isfahan province on Sunday but there were no casualties, the country's official Irna news agency reported.
The 5am blast was caused by wear and tear of a transformer at the power station in the city of Islamabad, Said Mohseni, the managing director of the Isfahan power company, told Irna.
There have been several explosions and fires at Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities since late June.
The plant returned to normal after about two hours and Isfahan's power supply was uninterrupted, Mr Mohseni added.
Sunday's incident is the latest in a string of fires and explosions at military and civilian sites across Iran in recent weeks.
Two explosions rocked Tehran in late June, one near a military site and the other at a health centre, the latter killing 19 people.
Fires or blasts also hit a shipyard in southern Iran last week, a factory south of Tehran – leaving two dead – and the Natanz nuclear complex in central Iran earlier this month.
The Iranian authorities called the Natanz fire an accident but did not elaborate. They later said they would not reveal its cause, citing security reasons.
Iran's string of fires and explosions prompted speculation that Israel, the country's arch-enemy, may be behind a campaign of sabotage
Israel accuses Iran of seeking to acquire a nuclear bomb. Tehran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
Updated: July 19, 2020 03:35 PM
