Iran's Defense Ministry-owned auto battery plant has its second fire

For the second time in less than a week, a fire broke out at an Iranian Defense Ministry-owned auto battery manufacturing on Thursday, according to official media.

According to state TV, the fire broke out in a location where plastic waste is kept, but no one was hurt. Photographs and video footage of a column of black smoke rising into the sky north of Tehran, the Iranian capital, were widely shared by Iranian news sites.

Many of the factories in Iran are run by the regular military and the Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary group. These companies manufacture various items used by the general public.

Iran frequently accuses its bitter foe Israel of sabotage after experiencing numerous fires and other disasters in its military installations over the years. Iran claimed last month that Israel attempted to use malfunctioning, potentially explosive foreign components to undermine its ballistic missile development.

Iran has been forced to construct its own equipment or obtain replacement components on the black market for numerous years due to severe Western sanctions that prohibit it from importing a variety of machinery and parts.