লেখক: Mysterious blasts in Iran: Iranian officials deny reports of recent bombings in the country
Explosion at Natanz's nuclear facilities is said to have caused significant damage to Iran's nuclear program.
Authorities in Iran have denied reports of Thursday's bombings west of the capital, Tehran. There have been reports of mysterious explosions across the country over the past few weeks.
Iran's state-run media said the country's social media users had heard explosions near the cities of Garmadara and Quds.
The bombings in Iran in recent weeks have damaged key nuclear facilities and refineries.
Earlier this month, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization confirmed that a fire had erupted after an explosion at the Natanz nuclear plant. Iran's nuclear program was reportedly damaged after the incident.
According to the state-run news agency Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), news of the recent blasts began on the country's social media on Thursday night.
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A hospital where state-of-the-art surgery and medical imaging was performed exploded and caught fire in June.
According to a BBC analysis, a few social media users claiming to be from the Iranian city of Garmadara reported hearing the blasts, but images of the fires and the destruction of buildings that circulated on the internet They are from old events.
The governor of the Iranian city of Quds, Laila Wasighi, told the state-run IRNA news agency that the city's power system had been affected for some time, but that the system was affected by a hospital.
A Quds MP also denied reports of any explosions in the city, saying the power outage in the city was a routine operation by a local electricity provider.
According to the American newspaper New York Times, the major of Garmadara said that the explosions heard locally in the city were in a factory making a gas cylinder.
Recent events in Iran
Since the end of June, mysterious explosions and fires have been reported in various parts of Iran.
June 26: A bomb explodes at a key oil supply facility for Khojar missiles near Parchin, Iran. On the same day, a fire broke out in a power plant in the Iranian city of Shiraz, which caused the city's electricity to be suspended.
June 30: An explosion at a hospital in Iran kills 19 people.
July 2: Explosion and fire at the Natanz nuclear facility.
July 3: Massive fire in the Iranian city of Shiraz.
July 4: An explosion and fire at a power plant in the Iranian city of Ahvaz, while a chlorine gas leak is reported from the Karun Petrochemical plant in Mashhar.
Iran's Supreme National Security Agency says the cause of the explosion at the Natanz nuclear plant has been determined, but details could not be released for security reasons.
Some Iranian officials have told Reuters they suspect Israel of attacking the nuclear plant.
Asked if Israel had a hand in the attack on Iran's nuclear facility, the Israeli foreign minister said, "It is better not to talk about our actions in Iran."
