Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Fire at Iran refinery prompts state of emergency

Isfahan is home to Iran's uranium conversion facility, which operates
under IAEA surveillance. Photograph: Caren Firouz/Reuters


Malfunction in Isfahan refinery, the second largest in Iran, results in black out, burning of gas, oil residues - YNET

A malfunction at an Isfahan refinery caused a leakage of cooling water from its generators - the latest in a string of mysterious mishaps in Iran in the past few months. A power outage was created as a result and a state of emergency was declared at the refinery, the Iranian Mehr news agency reported.

Wow, They’re Still Blowing Up Iran - Michael Ledeen/PJMedia

Iran: explosion in Isfahan reported

Isfahan is home to Iran's uranium conversion facility (UCF), which operates under IAEA surveillance. Iran's main uranium enrichment facilities are situated in the city of Natanz to the north-east of Isfahan, where many of the country's centrifuges are installed. In recent years, Iran's nuclear activities at Natanz have been at the centre of an international dispute.

Earlier this month, a huge explosion at a missile base in the west of Tehran killed more than 30 members of Iran's revolutionary guards, including Major General Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, a senior commander described as the architect of the country's missile programme.

In recent years, Iran's nuclear and missile programmes have experienced a series of setbacks in what has been widely seen as a covert war against the Islamic republic.