Stray bomb hits building in Iran

March 22 2003

Two people were injured when a missile landed in western Iran near the border with Iraq today, an Iranian parliamentarian said.

"This is unacceptable and Iran will protest this incident," said Mohammad Kianoush Rad, a member for the south-west Iranian province of Khuzestan, where the missile landed.

He said the missile hit an Oil Ministry building in the Iranian city of Abadan.

"Two people were injured, but no one died," he said.

"We hope this was only a stray missile," Rad told The Associated Press by telephone.

He said it was not clear where the missile had come from. Abadan is about 50 km east of the city of Basra in southern Iraq, which is reportedly under attack by coalition forces.

Iranian government spokesman, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, confirmed that a missile had landed somewhere in Iranian territory near the Iraqi border, but he would not give details.

However, he said that Iran had demanded explanations from the Swiss and British embassies in Tehran.

The Swiss embassy looks after US interests in Iran. The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Iran.

- AP