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(CNN) -- A large blast has been reported near the southern port city of Dailam in Iran, where the country has a nuclear power plant, according to Iranian state television.
The television report said witnesses claim Wednesday's blast was the result of a missile fired from a plane seen overhead.
"A powerful explosion was heard this morning on the outskirts of Dailam in the Bushehr province. Witnesses said that the missile was fired from an unknown plane 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the city," Iran's Arabic language Al-Alam said.
There was no immediate reaction from Iranian officials over the blast, Al-Alam said.
Senior Israeli security sources told Reuters news agency that Israel's military was not involved in any blast in Iran.
Iran's Russian-built 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor, its only nuclear power plant, is due to start operating in Bushehr province in late 2005.
The reports come as Iran's intelligence minister was quoted as saying the United States has been flying spy drones over Iran's nuclear sites.
"Most of the shining objects that our people see over Iran's airspace are American spying equipment used to spy on Iran's nuclear and military facilities," The Associated Press quoted Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi as saying Wednesday
On Sunday, The Washington Post newspaper quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying the United States has been using unmanned flights for the past year to gather intelligence on Iran's nuclear capability.
"U.S. spying activities over Iranian airspace have been going since a long time ago," AP quoted Yunesi as saying.
"These activities won't reveal anything to them," Yunesi said. "That's to say, it won't give them anything new."
"Our nuclear activities are open and very transparent. Our military activities are all legal," Yunesi said.
"If any of the bright objects come close, they will definitely meet our fire. We possess the necessary equipment to confront them," Yunesi said.
Last month, Yunesi said that the United States had been conducting aerial surveillance, but he neither mentioned drones nor nuclear and military sites, AP reported.
The Iranian air force was ordered in December to shoot down any unknown or suspicious flying objects in Iran's airspace, AP reported. At the time, there were reports in Iranian newspapers that spying devices had been found in a pilotless planes that had been shot down.
Meanwhile Wednesday, Iran's foreign minister, Kamal Kharrasi, was in Berlin for meetings with his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer. European and U.S. efforts to rein in Tehran's nuclear ambitions were expected to be the focus of the talks.
Iran suspended its uranium enrichment program last year under a deal struck with Germany, France and Britain. Tehran plans to decide soon whether to continue the suspension, which is monitored by U.N. nuclear inspectors.
On Tuesday, Kharrasi urged the European Union to make more economic and technological concessions to reach an agreement on Iran'snuclear activities.
"It needs more efforts, more seriousness, more confidence building to be evaluated as a fruitful and positive process," AP quoted him as telling reporters after discussions with the Luxembourg government, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
Conflicting signals
Following Sunday's Washington Post story, U.S. sources gave conflicting signals to CNN about the veracity of the report.
Three senior U.S. military officials disputed the article Sunday, but two well-placed U.S. government sources confirmed it, saying that the overflights have indeed been taking place.
The newspaper -- citing three U.S. officials -- reported that Washington has been using drones to look for evidence of nuclear weapons programs and to "detect weaknesses in air defenses."
Neither the CIA nor the Pentagon commented Sunday on the apparent discrepancy.
The Bush administration has been working to build international pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program, arguing that the country is operating a clandestine weapons program.
Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is designed for civilian energy production only.
Because U.S. intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction turned out to be wrong, some critics of the Bush administration have questioned whether U.S. intelligence on Iran can be trusted.
Britain, France and Germany have been holding talks with Tehran in an attempt to have Iran's uranium-enrichment program permanently frozen. The United States has said it would work with European countries in their efforts.
Meanwhile, Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday that the United States is not flying drones over Iran.
But the Kansas Republican did say that unmanned aerial vehicles -- or UAVs -- have the capability to collect such intelligence.
"I think we ought to be using all of our capabilities in terms of collecting the intelligence we need," said Roberts, who recently commissioned his staff to conduct a review of U.S. intelligence on Iran, in order to avoid the kind of faulty assessments that preceded the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"It was a world community intelligence failure; we can't let that happen again," Roberts said.
Meanwhile, another U.S. senator said Iran was a greater problem than Iraq, and that America needed to have "all eyes on the ground that we can possibly get."
"They are a dangerous country," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Intelligence Committee's ranking Democrat. "They're much more sophisticated than Iraq."
Several U.S. military officials said they have no information on any U.S. operations over Iran.
A senior military official with knowledge of the region told CNN last week that there were no aircraft, including UAVs, flying over Iranian airspace.
He said no U.S. military aircraft were violating Iranian airspace and that the United States was keeping its assets 12 miles (19 kilometers) off Iranian shores.
In January, the Pentagon criticized an article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that said the United States had been carrying out reconnaissance missions in Iran for possible airstrikes as soon as this summer. (Full story)
In December, the Iranian newspaper "Etemaad" reported Iranian citizens' apparent sightings of unidentified flying objects.
People said they saw illuminated objects flying over eastern and western parts of Iran, including the cities of Bushehr and Esfahan.
The objects were flying at an altitude of about 30,000 feet, the report said.
The television report said witnesses claim Wednesday's blast was the result of a missile fired from a plane seen overhead.
"A powerful explosion was heard this morning on the outskirts of Dailam in the Bushehr province. Witnesses said that the missile was fired from an unknown plane 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the city," Iran's Arabic language Al-Alam said.
There was no immediate reaction from Iranian officials over the blast, Al-Alam said.
Senior Israeli security sources told Reuters news agency that Israel's military was not involved in any blast in Iran.
Iran's Russian-built 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor, its only nuclear power plant, is due to start operating in Bushehr province in late 2005.
The reports come as Iran's intelligence minister was quoted as saying the United States has been flying spy drones over Iran's nuclear sites.
"Most of the shining objects that our people see over Iran's airspace are American spying equipment used to spy on Iran's nuclear and military facilities," The Associated Press quoted Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi as saying Wednesday
On Sunday, The Washington Post newspaper quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying the United States has been using unmanned flights for the past year to gather intelligence on Iran's nuclear capability.
"U.S. spying activities over Iranian airspace have been going since a long time ago," AP quoted Yunesi as saying.
"These activities won't reveal anything to them," Yunesi said. "That's to say, it won't give them anything new."
"Our nuclear activities are open and very transparent. Our military activities are all legal," Yunesi said.
"If any of the bright objects come close, they will definitely meet our fire. We possess the necessary equipment to confront them," Yunesi said.
Last month, Yunesi said that the United States had been conducting aerial surveillance, but he neither mentioned drones nor nuclear and military sites, AP reported.
The Iranian air force was ordered in December to shoot down any unknown or suspicious flying objects in Iran's airspace, AP reported. At the time, there were reports in Iranian newspapers that spying devices had been found in a pilotless planes that had been shot down.
Meanwhile Wednesday, Iran's foreign minister, Kamal Kharrasi, was in Berlin for meetings with his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer. European and U.S. efforts to rein in Tehran's nuclear ambitions were expected to be the focus of the talks.
Iran suspended its uranium enrichment program last year under a deal struck with Germany, France and Britain. Tehran plans to decide soon whether to continue the suspension, which is monitored by U.N. nuclear inspectors.
On Tuesday, Kharrasi urged the European Union to make more economic and technological concessions to reach an agreement on Iran'snuclear activities.
"It needs more efforts, more seriousness, more confidence building to be evaluated as a fruitful and positive process," AP quoted him as telling reporters after discussions with the Luxembourg government, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
Conflicting signals
Following Sunday's Washington Post story, U.S. sources gave conflicting signals to CNN about the veracity of the report.
Three senior U.S. military officials disputed the article Sunday, but two well-placed U.S. government sources confirmed it, saying that the overflights have indeed been taking place.
The newspaper -- citing three U.S. officials -- reported that Washington has been using drones to look for evidence of nuclear weapons programs and to "detect weaknesses in air defenses."
Neither the CIA nor the Pentagon commented Sunday on the apparent discrepancy.
The Bush administration has been working to build international pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program, arguing that the country is operating a clandestine weapons program.
Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is designed for civilian energy production only.
Because U.S. intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction turned out to be wrong, some critics of the Bush administration have questioned whether U.S. intelligence on Iran can be trusted.
Britain, France and Germany have been holding talks with Tehran in an attempt to have Iran's uranium-enrichment program permanently frozen. The United States has said it would work with European countries in their efforts.
Meanwhile, Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday that the United States is not flying drones over Iran.
But the Kansas Republican did say that unmanned aerial vehicles -- or UAVs -- have the capability to collect such intelligence.
"I think we ought to be using all of our capabilities in terms of collecting the intelligence we need," said Roberts, who recently commissioned his staff to conduct a review of U.S. intelligence on Iran, in order to avoid the kind of faulty assessments that preceded the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"It was a world community intelligence failure; we can't let that happen again," Roberts said.
Meanwhile, another U.S. senator said Iran was a greater problem than Iraq, and that America needed to have "all eyes on the ground that we can possibly get."
"They are a dangerous country," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Intelligence Committee's ranking Democrat. "They're much more sophisticated than Iraq."
Several U.S. military officials said they have no information on any U.S. operations over Iran.
A senior military official with knowledge of the region told CNN last week that there were no aircraft, including UAVs, flying over Iranian airspace.
He said no U.S. military aircraft were violating Iranian airspace and that the United States was keeping its assets 12 miles (19 kilometers) off Iranian shores.
In January, the Pentagon criticized an article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that said the United States had been carrying out reconnaissance missions in Iran for possible airstrikes as soon as this summer. (Full story)
In December, the Iranian newspaper "Etemaad" reported Iranian citizens' apparent sightings of unidentified flying objects.
People said they saw illuminated objects flying over eastern and western parts of Iran, including the cities of Bushehr and Esfahan.
The objects were flying at an altitude of about 30,000 feet, the report said.
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