A strong explosion was heard this Saturday (04.12.2021) near the city of Natanz, which houses nuclear facilities, as a result of a missile test, according to state television.

The air defense units “fired the missile to test a rapid reaction force on Natanz,” the commander of the Air Defense of the aforementioned region reported on state television.

The source added that “these exercises are carried out in a completely safe environment and in full coordination with the integrated defense network.”

The strong explosion took place at 8.15 p.m. local time (5.45 p.m. CET) in the town of Badrud de Natanz, about 20 kilometers from the Ahmadi Roshan nuclear power plant, in the province of Isfahan.

After hearing the explosion, the commander of the Natanz Defense Guard, Alí Moazení, said that Iran’s airspace is in complete security.

“The skies of Islamic Iran are in complete safety with the surveillance of the air defense forces of the army and the Guardians of the Revolution and any threat from the enemies will be accompanied by a firm and decisive response,” Moazení stressed in statements to the agency. Iranian news officer IRNA.

According to the spokesman for the Iranian army, Shahin Taqí Janí, the explosion was due to a missile system test.

The air defense units “fired the missile to test a rapid reaction force on Natanz,” reported Taqí Janí, who assured that such exercises “are carried out in a completely safe environment and in full coordination with the integrated defense network.”

According to another unidentified source cited by the IRNA agency, “the explosion had nothing to do with the nuclear facilities and caused no damage or casualties.”

jc (efe, dpa)