Six fuel trucks erupted in flames in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah on Tuesday. It is the latest in a series of unusual fires and explosions across the Islamic Republic, some of which have hit sensitive sites.
Approximately 100 firefighters were required to battle the blazes, which occurred in a parking lot in the Dolat Abad industrial area. Video footage from the scene shows enormous columns of black smoke spilling into the air as emergency services struggled to bring the situation under control.
“Some 100 firefighters are trying to contain the fire in the area. There were no casualties but some people were injured,” Keyvan Maleki of Kermanshah’s fire department told Iran’s Student News Agency.
The spokesman said that as many as seven people, including three firefighters, were injured as a result of the explosions. He added that authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident.
It comes following several explosions and fires at Iranian military and industrial facilities over the course of a month. The first incident took place on June 26, at a gas storage facility in Parchin near the capital Tehran. It was followed just four days later by an explosion at a medical facility that killed 19 people, which was attributed to faulty oxygen tanks.
In early June, a major explosion hit the Natanz nuclear site, Iran’s primary uranium processing compound, while a separate blast also ripped through the Parchin military complex.
The incidents have sparked rampant speculation that they may have been the result of Israeli sabotage or cyberattacks. However, Tehran has not openly assigned blame, while Israeli officials have issued carefully worded statements neither confirming nor denying involvement.
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