The deputy head of the Islamic Republic Armed Forces says no foreign influence was at work in the recent explosion at an IRGC ammunition depot.
Gholamali Rashidi told the Fars News Agency: “Neither Mossad, the CIA nor any other intelligence service has the ability to do such a thing, especially since Commander Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam was such a careful individual and always stressed security issues.”
On Saturday November 12, an explosion at a Revolutionary Guards headquarters in Bidgeneh, 20 kilometres west of Tehran, rocked the area and injured or killed dozens of military personnel. Commander Tehrani Moghaddam, whom the IRGC refers to as the founder of its missile program, was one of the victims.
Time magazine published a report on the incident, saying a Western intelligence source informed it that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, was involved in this incident.
Gholamali Rashid denied the Time report, saying Israel’s military threats against Iran amount to “psychological warfare.” He added that Iran is always ready to respond in kind to any threat from Israel.
In recent weeks, a number of Israeli officials have raised the prospect of military attacks on Iran.
Iranian authorities have responded by saying they are ready to retaliate against Israel “at full force.”
