Report of explosion at Iran nuclear plant not ‘credible,’ says Carney

White House press secretary Jay Carney on Monday dismissed reports of a massive explosion at an Iranian nuclear facility.

"We have no information to confirm the allegations in the report and we do not believe the report is credible," Carney told reporters in his daily press briefing. "We don't believe those are credible reports."

Conservative website World Net Daily ran a story last week penned by former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Reza Kahlili claiming an explosion deep within the Fordow nuclear facility had destroyed much of the compound and trapped some 240 employees deep underground. The website claims the blast shook buildings within a three-mile radius and caused the Iranian government to close a nearby highway.

The Sunday Times reported that Israeli intelligence officials had confirmed the blast, though the newspaper said the officials did not know how significant the explosion was or whether it was sabotage or an accident. But that report has not been publicly confirmed, and Iranian officials have denied any explosion occurred.

"The false news of an explosion at Fordow is Western propaganda ahead of nuclear negotiations to influence their process and outcome," Saeed Shamseddin Bar Broudi, the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told Reuters.

World Net Daily is perhaps best known for its stories advancing conspiracy theories about President Obama's birth certificate. But it also counts many high-profile conservatives, including former GOP presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Herman Cain, as well as actor Chuck Norris, among its columnists.

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