Iran confirms US drones story. Meantime, Reuters reports an unknown aircraft fired a missile near Bushehr, Iran. [Stay tuned: Often these 'breaking news' items turn out to be less than they first appear]. Reuters is also reporting that Israel's Silvan Shalom says that Iran "is six months away from having the knowledge to build an atomic bomb." The US National Intelligence Council is expected to come out with its own estimate by March.

Update: It turns out it was ... road work. From the AFP:

A powerful explosion in southern Iran on Wednesday which raised jitters of a possible attack on the country's nuclear installations, was a result of road blasting, a senior security official said.

It was an explosion set deliberately to blast through rock and open a road," Supreme National Security Council spokesman Agha Mohammadi told AFP. "In no circumstances was it an attack against the Islamic republic's nuclear installations."

[Thanks to all for the links.]

Update II: But was it really road work? I am hearing some speculation that the Iranian authorities originally refused to comment on the Iranian State TV report.

Posted by Laura at February 16, 2005 09:06 AM