Huge blast at Tehran military base

A huge explosion has hit a Revolutionary Guards base 20 kilometres west of Tehran, according to Iranian officials.At least 27 soldiers are reported to have been killed.

Reuters/Leader.ir/Handout

The explosion, which was originally reported to have taken place in a petrol station, hit "a military base" west of Tehran, Alireza Jane, who is responsible for security issues in the

Tehran's governor office, told the ISNA news agency.

The blast shattered the windows of residential neighbourhoods in the western suburbs of Tehran, witnesses told the AFP news agency and was heard in the city centre.

Officials also did not say whether the blast, which apparently hit a weapons depot, was accidental or the result of an attack.

The Sunni-Muslim Jundullah group, which is believed to have links with the US, claimed responsibility for attacks on Shia mosques in Iran in 2010.

Iran accuses the People's Mujahedeen of using terror tactics against it but the European Union took the organisation off its terrorist list in 2009.

Politicians in Israel have been openingly discussing attacking Iran's nuclear facilities recently but were reported to have backed off the idea after a UN nuclear agency report raised their hopes of international action.