Iranian media confirmed that the sound of explosions and gunfire in the city of Karaj was the result of a military training exercise by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) on Thursday night.
An “IRGC's defense exercise was held around Karaj on Thursday night,” and “for several minutes, hypothetical targets were attacked at night,” Iran’s IRNA news agency reported Thursday.
Citing “an informed source,” the Tasnim News Agency reported that the sounds resulted from a “routine exercise” being carried out by Basij forces, which is “currently underway in the Martyr Motahari Basij training camp near Karaj.”
Israeli media seized on videos of a blast in a city which is rumored to contain nuclear enrichment facilities to suggest that Iranian forces had suffered a military strike. But so far, there’s no evidence proving such stories are anything but rumors.
In January 2022, Iranian authorities clarified that a similar explosion heard near Karaj was also the result of a training exercise – not an incoming military strike.
“The loud noise heard this afternoon in the suburbs of Karaj was caused by the firing of a rocket during a training exercise… managed [by] one of the Guards' headquarters, which has caused some speculations and rumors online,” an IRGC spokesman reportedly said at the time.
“Such exercises are not uncommon, and we call upon our dear compatriots not to pay attention to the rumors spread by the opponents and enemies of the Iranian nation,” the statement concluded.