An explosion at a gas distribution company in a town near the Iranian capital was thought to have killed 15 people, Iran's Fars news agency said.

The cause of the blast late yesterday was not immediately clear, but Fars said a large number of gas canisters used in homes for cooking had exploded.

"It is not yet clear if (the blast) was intentional or not," Fars reported, adding that the explosion occurred at a gas company in a suburb of Karaj, west of Tehran.

"The number of probable deaths in the explosion has been put at 15," Fars reported without giving more details.

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