Iran says refinery fire contained, rules out sabotage
Iranian officials rushed to reject speculation of sabotage behind a Tehran refinery blaze that followed a chain of incidents blamed on Israel.
Only hours into a massive fire that ravaged the Tondguyan Oil Refinery south of the capital Tehran, one Iranian official after another dismissed speculation that it was an act of sabotage.
The refinery's public relations chief told the Iranian press that based on a review of surveillance camera footage, the sabotage theory was "absolutely ruled out." A prosecutor announced that the incident was not being treated as sabotage, but an investigation had been launched into the possible causes.
Based on their initial estimates, officials were expecting the fire to be out in 12 hours. Yet by mid-day June 3, plumes of smoke were still being seen outside the refinery as the fire had hit a large reservoir of 20,000 barrels of oil.
Later on Thursday afternoon, however, Tehran's Firefighting Department and an Oil Ministry deputy said the flames were entirely extinguished and a spread to the refinery's main containers was no longer a threat.
