Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said all operations had been suspended at the facility, known as the Tondguyan refinery, as firefighters tried to contain the blaze.
"A leak at a liquid gas pipeline at the facility sparked the fire," Mansour Darajati, the head of Tehran's crisis management organization, told state TV. A spokesperson for the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution said the fire was caused by a gasoline tanker with a capacity for 20,000 barrels caught fire, but said there was no blast, according to the Mehr news agency.
Shaker Khafaii, head of the Tehran Oil Refining Co, which runs the refinery, ruled out the possibility of sabotage, Iran's state TV reported.
Iranian media said ambulances and firefighters had been dispatched to the area, while TV said thick plumes of black smoke over the refinery could be seen from different parts of Tehran.One person reportedly sustained minor injuries but was treated on the scenes, according to Iran's Mehr news agency, citing a spokesperson with Tehran's emergency center.The fire has reportedly been contained around the tanker and the fire is expected to be extinguished when the fuel inside the tanker runs out, according to Mehr news.The fire at the refinery happened a few hours after Iran's largest navy ship, the Kharg, caught fire and later sank in the Gulf of Oman.
