Associated Press= TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander killed in an explosion at an ammunition depot west of Tehran last week died while testing an intercontinental missile, his brother was quoted by a government newspaper as saying Saturday.
Mohammad Tehrani Moghaddam, himself a Guard officer, also said in an interview published Saturday that his brother Gen. Hasan Tehrani Moghaddam had founded the missile unit of the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Gen. Moghaddam was killed together with 20 other Guard members Nov. 12 at a military site outside Bidganeh village, 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Tehran. The Guard said the explosion was an accident, and occurred while military personnel were transporting munitions.
But Mohammad Tehrani Moghaddam was quoted by the government-run Iran newspaper as saying that his brother was killed when the weapon exploded during testing. He did not dispute that the explosion was accidental.
“He lost his life while doing a final test of the missile,” Moghaddam said. “The project was in the final testing phase. It was related to an intercontinental ballistic missile … It was a completely high-tech, confidential process.”
