Iranian media reported today (Saturday) a large explosion that took place near the Abu Nasser Farahi border crossing, between Iran and Afghanistan. The blast caused a large fire of a fuel reservoir and local firefighters are currently working on extinguishing it.
The blast apparently began with a fuel tanker, and the fire that ignited from the blast spread to two large fuel depots containing 500 tons of fuel, intended for export from Iran to Afghanistan. The media in the country published pictures of the huge fire.
The Tassanim news agency reported that firefighters were dispatched from the city of Mashhad, the second largest city in Iran, in order to assist the fire brigade at the border crossing, which is at a remote point far from large settlements.
This is the second explosion of its kind to take place on the border between Afghanistan and Iran in the past month, when on February 13 a similar explosion occurred at another border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran. The cold weather and the proximity of the events raise the suspicion of sabotage.
Meanwhile, the UN yesterday condemned Iran’s conduct in suppressing the Baluchi uprising in the east of the country, an uprising during which at least 18 Baluchi minority civilians were killed. Illegally between Afghanistan and Iran.
The protest spread from the border town of Sarawan to the capital of Sistine-Baluchistan, and a widespread strike broke out across the province. Large forces of the Revolutionary Guards were flown into the rebel district and managed to quell the riots.