Iran commander killed in blast ‘was working on missiles’ his brother says

An Iranian general killed in a massive explosion at a munitions base outside the capital on November 12 was working on an intercontinental missile, his brother told a government-run newspaper.

General Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam died while working on a “project related to intercontinental ballistic missiles,” Mohammad Tehrani Moghaddam, himself a Revolutionary Guards commander, told Saturday’s Iran newspaper.

“He lost his life while doing a final test of the missile," Moghaddam was quoted as saying. "The project was in the final testing phase. It was related to an intercontinental ballistic missile ... It was a completely high-tech, confidential process."

The Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s most powerful military force, is in charge of Iran’s missile program.

The Guards have said the huge blast was an accident, implicitly rejecting Western media speculation it might have been a covert Israeli or U.S. attack.

Officials in Tehran said Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam founded the country’s ballistic missile program after becoming an artillery specialist in the 1980s, during the Iraq-Iran war.

The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, General Hassan Firouzabadi, said last Wednesday the base was being used in the production of an unspecified “experimental product” that could be used against the United States or Israel.

Firouzabadi said the development of the project had been delayed by “two weeks” because of the blast.

In a statement released after the explosion, the Guard said it would not forget Moghaddam’s “effective role in the development of the country’s defense ... and his efforts in launching and organizing the Guard’s artillery and missile units.”

Moghaddam headed a “self-sufficiency” unit of the Guard’s armaments section, it said.

In the interview, Mohammed Tehrani Moghaddam said that this brother had also set up Hezbollah’s missile capability. “Hasan ... visited Lebanon and created Hezbollah’s missile unit there,” he was quoted as saying.

Iran is a key supporter of Hezbollah and is believed to funnel it weapons and millions of dollars in funding, though Tehran denies arming the Shiite group. Hezbollah, also closely allied to Syria, boasts a heavy arsenal of rockets capable of reaching deep inside Israel.

Iran’s arsenal boasts missiles with a range of about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) that were designed for Israeli and U.S. targets. The missile capability, along with Iran’s nuclear program, is among the reasons why Israel considers Iran its most dangerous enemy.

Moghaddam said his brother was also involved in Iran’s space program, assisting the rocket that took an Iranian satellite into orbit.

He didn’t elaborate but said Hasan was favored by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mohammed Moghaddam himself was once Khamenei’s bodyguard.

The Guards initially said 17 Guard members were killed in the explosion. The semi-official Mehr news agency listed the names of 21 victims prompting the military force to say some of those critically injured had succumbed to their wounds later.