Blast kills at least three at Iran military shipyard

A submarine battery exploded in an Iranian military shipyard on Saturday, killing three workers, state broadcaster IRIB and Reuters reported.

“Three Defence Ministry staff were martyred after a submarine battery exploded at the Shahid Darvishi shipyard in (the Gulf port of) Bandar Abbas…, which builds and repairs military ships and submarines,” IRIB said on its website.

Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes that have barred it from importing many weapons.

Earlier this year, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying: “Iran’s home-grown defensive missile programme is the Iranian nation’s natural right”.

Read: Iran to unveil new fighter jet, develop missiles

A US-Iranian war of words has escalated since US President Donald Trump took Washington out of a world powers’ nuclear deal with Iran in May, and reimposed sanctions on its banking and energy sectors.

Iran has warned that if it cannot sell its oil due to US pressure, then no other regional country will be allowed to do so either, threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf. The Guards’ naval arm lacks a strong conventional fleet. However, it has many speed boats and portable anti-ship missile launchers, and can lay mines.