Only hours into a massive fire that ravaged the Tondguyan Oil Refinery south of the capital Tehran, one Iranian official after another dismissed speculation that it was an act of sabotage.
The refinery's public relations chief told the Iranian press that based on a review of surveillance camera footage, the sabotage theory was "absolutely ruled out." A prosecutor announced that the incident was not being treated as sabotage, but an investigation had been launched into the possible causes.
