This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A massive fire broke out at a state-owned refinery to the south of Tehran, Iranian state media reported, sending thick plumes of black smoke over the city.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The fire began at the capital’s Tondguyan refinery at around 7:30 p.m. local time, and was caused by a leak at a liquid gas pipeline, the head of Tehran’s crisis management team, Mansour Darajati, told state TV late on June 2.
He said the cause of the incident would be investigated.
The stricken refinery has a capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, state news agency IRNA reported, and is owned by the Tehran Oil Refining Company.
A spokesman for the company dismissed “all speculation centering on sabotage” at the refinery, state television wrote on its Telegram channel.
“The accident was caused by a technical problem and we are currently in the process of controlling the fire,” the spokesman said.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported that all operations had been suspended at the facility.
Local media reported that officials said firefighters and ambulances had been dispatched to the scene.
The fire at the refinery occurred hours after the Iranian navy’s largest vessel caught fire under unknown circumstances and later sank in the Gulf of Oman.
The cause of that fire has not been publicly identified.
