Two dead after explosion at Iranian nuclear-linked military site

A fire at an explosives factory in Iran that has been connected to the country's nuclear programme has left at least two dead, according to official reports.

The incident at Iran's Parchin military site, which is located some 30km southeast of the capital Tehran, was described as being just a fire by the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency and the official Irna news agency.

 "Unfortunately, due to the incident, two workers of this production unit lost their lives," said an Isna statement, without elaborating further.

But a pro-opposition website, Saham, argued that the explosion that took place in the facility was so intense it caused the windows of buildings several miles away to shatter.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has long denounced suspect activities at the Parchin military base. The agency, which has failed to enter the complex since 2005 due to Iranian opposition, maintained that the Islamic Republic may have carried out explosives tests that could be useful to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran has denied that it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability and said Parchin is just a conventional military facility.