Two killed in Iran gas pipeline blast: reports

AFP - Two people were killed and 16 others injured by an explosion at a gas pipeline near Iran's northeastern city

AFP - The death toll from a gas pipeline explosion near Iran's northeastern h

Iran blamed the West and Israel on Saturday for twin suicide bombings which killed at least 27 people, despite condemnation of the attack by the European Union, United Nations and United States.Iranian police, meanwhile, arrested 40 people for "creating disturbances" in the southeastern city of Zahedan where the bombers struck on Thursday, the Mehr news agency reported."This blind terrorist act was carried out by the mercenaries of the world arrogance (the Western powers)," state television's website quoted Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi as saying.

Iran blamed the West and Israel on Saturday for twin suicide bombings which killed at least 27 people, despite condemnation of the attack by the European Union, United Nations and United States.Iranian police, meanwhile, arrested 40 people for "creating disturbances" in the southeastern city of Zahedan where the bombers struck on Thursday, the Mehr news agency reported."This blind terrorist act was carried out by the mercenaries of the world arrogance (the Western powers)," state television's website quoted Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi as saying.

Iran blamed the West and Israel on Saturday for twin suicide bombings which killed at least 27 people, despite condemnation of the attack by the European Union, United Nations and United States.Iranian police meanwhile arrested 40 people for "creating disturbances" in the southeastern city of Zahedan where the bombers struck on Thursday, the Mehr news agency reported."This blind terrorist act was carried out by the mercenaries of the world arrogance (the Western powers)," state television's website quoted Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi as saying.

Three people, including two children, have been killed and 40 others injured in an earthquake which struck Iran's biggest desert, Dasht-e Kavir, state television reported on Saturday.The 5.9 magnitude quake struck on Friday south of the northern city of Damghan.In a separate report, the state television website quoted secretary general of Iran Red Crescent, Zaher Rostani, as saying that an elderly woman was also among those killed in the quake.

TEHRAN, Iran — A 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 37 and injured hundreds more in a sparsely populated area in southern Iran on Tuesday, Iranian officials said, adding that it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region. The report said the earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 96 kilometres southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran’s first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help.

The military base struck by an explosion on Tuesday in which several people were reportedly killed belonged to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, state media reported."The blast occurred at 12:00 (0830 GMT) at one of the bases of Guards in the province" of Lorestan, Guards commander Yadollah Bouali was quoted as saying on state television's website.In a separate report on Fars news agency, Bouali was quoted as saying the incident occurred when "fire spread to the ammunition depot" at the base, which is said to be near the provincial capital Khorramabad.