Tehran, Iran:
Iran has denied reports that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's motorcade was attacked by a grenade on Wednesday, saying that the explosion was actually a "firecracker."
Earlier, a conservative website claimed that a handmade grenade had exploded on Wednesday near President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's convoy in an apparent assassination attempt.
The website, khabaronline.ir, said the grenade detonated near Ahmadinejad's convoy as he was on his way to address a crowd in the western Iranian town of Hamedan, but did not harm him.
The President later gave his speech as planned, and it was broadcast live on state television.
He made no mention of any attack in his remarks.
One person was arrested in connection with the attack, the website report said, adding that Ahmadinejad's car was about 100 yards (metres) from the blast. It also said there was no information whether anyone was injured.
"The explosion caused a lot of smoke," the report said.
Iran's state-run Press TV, the government's main English-language broadcast arm, said a correspondent had spoken to "both the President's media office and correspondents who were accompanying the President on his visit to Hamedan" and they had rejected the report, saying the noise was caused by a firecracker often used in welcoming ceremonies.
Ahmadinejad, whose popularity at home is waning amid a faltering economy and tightened UN and Western sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme, regularly tours the countryside to deliver speeches to grassroot supporters in cities and town across Iran.
Other media reported an explosion in the area but gave conflicting accounts about the cause.
The semi-official Fars news agency said a handmade grenade was thrown at the path where the president and his entourage had been but only after they had left the site.
Fars said the explosion disturbed people at the site.
Hamedan, 200 miles (340 kilometres) west of Tehran, is not known as a restive area, but it is close to Kurdish area of Iran that has witnessed occasional clashes between Kurdish rebels and security forces over the past years.
Ahmadinejad also said on Monday during a speech that Israel had sent agents to assassinate him, but he gave no details.
The accusation came a day after another conservative Iranian website, Mashreghnews.ir, reported that security forces had detained a militant group in Tehran that planned to assassinate officials.
It linked the group to Kurdish separatists.
In May, Ahmadinejad was jeered by a crowd demanding jobs when he was speaking during a similar visit to the southern Iranian town of Khorramshahr.
In 2005, bandits reportedly killed a bodyguard of Ahmadinejad during his visit to restive Sistan-Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran.
However, the president had left the province before the attack occurred.
Earlier, a conservative website claimed that a handmade grenade had exploded on Wednesday near President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's convoy in an apparent assassination attempt.
The website, khabaronline.ir, said the grenade detonated near Ahmadinejad's convoy as he was on his way to address a crowd in the western Iranian town of Hamedan, but did not harm him.
The President later gave his speech as planned, and it was broadcast live on state television.
He made no mention of any attack in his remarks.
One person was arrested in connection with the attack, the website report said, adding that Ahmadinejad's car was about 100 yards (metres) from the blast. It also said there was no information whether anyone was injured.
"The explosion caused a lot of smoke," the report said.
Iran's state-run Press TV, the government's main English-language broadcast arm, said a correspondent had spoken to "both the President's media office and correspondents who were accompanying the President on his visit to Hamedan" and they had rejected the report, saying the noise was caused by a firecracker often used in welcoming ceremonies.
Ahmadinejad, whose popularity at home is waning amid a faltering economy and tightened UN and Western sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme, regularly tours the countryside to deliver speeches to grassroot supporters in cities and town across Iran.
Other media reported an explosion in the area but gave conflicting accounts about the cause.
The semi-official Fars news agency said a handmade grenade was thrown at the path where the president and his entourage had been but only after they had left the site.
Fars said the explosion disturbed people at the site.
Hamedan, 200 miles (340 kilometres) west of Tehran, is not known as a restive area, but it is close to Kurdish area of Iran that has witnessed occasional clashes between Kurdish rebels and security forces over the past years.
Ahmadinejad also said on Monday during a speech that Israel had sent agents to assassinate him, but he gave no details.
The accusation came a day after another conservative Iranian website, Mashreghnews.ir, reported that security forces had detained a militant group in Tehran that planned to assassinate officials.
It linked the group to Kurdish separatists.
In May, Ahmadinejad was jeered by a crowd demanding jobs when he was speaking during a similar visit to the southern Iranian town of Khorramshahr.
In 2005, bandits reportedly killed a bodyguard of Ahmadinejad during his visit to restive Sistan-Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran.
However, the president had left the province before the attack occurred.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
