A loud blast has been reported at an Iranian military facility and officials in the country say it was the result of an “unsuccessful” drone attack.

“One of (the drones) was hit by the … air defense and the other two were caught in defense traps and blew up. Fortunately, this unsuccessful attack did not cause any loss of life and caused minor damage to the workshop’s roof,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency IRNA.

Iranian news agencies earlier reported the loud blast and carried a video showing a flash of light at the plant, said to be an ammunitions factory, and footage of emergency vehicles and fire trucks outside the plant. Videos purportedly showing the explosion circulated on social media and witnesses said they heard “three or four explosions.”

“(The attack) has not affected our installations and mission…and such blind measures will not have an impact on the continuation of the country’s progress,” the defence ministry statement said.

There have been a number of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities in the past few years. In July, Iran said it had arrested a sabotage team made up of Kurdish militants working for Israel who planned to blow up a “sensitive” defence industry center in Isfahan.

The announcement came amid heightening tensions with arch-enemy Israel over Tehran’s nuclear program. Israel says Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies this.

The blast comes as talks between the United States and Iran appear to have stalled regarding a renegotiated nuclear deal between the two countries. (SOURCE)