LARNACA, Cyprus (AFP) - Huge blasts rocked the main Greek Cypriot naval base at Zygi in the south of the Mediterranean island early on Monday leaving 12 dead and many injured, a defence ministry spokeswoman said.
Public radio said at least 30 people were confirmed injured but said there was no firm word yet on the final number of dead from the explosions which it said struck among weapons seized from an Iranian shipment in 2009.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the blasts but the radio quoted Greek Cypriot National Guard chief Petros Tsaliklides as saying that they struck among containers of Iranian munitions seized from Cypriot-flagged vessel M/V Monchegorsk.
It was intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean en route to Syria in January 2009 and, after repeated searches, its cargo was eventually seized.
A UN Security Council panel concluded in March that year that the shipment was in clear violation of an arms embargo against Iran adopted as part of UN sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme and the seized weapons were put into storage.
"There were 98 containers of gunpowder. Two of them (caught) fire and huge explosions occurred," a police spokesman told the state CNA news agency.
The spokesman said that the blasts, which struck shortly before 6 am (0300 GMT), were the probable cause of widespread power cuts that hit much of Cyprus early on Monday.
State television said the explosions caused extensive damage to nearby property and sparked wildfires in adjacent scrubland in the tinder-dry summer conditions.
A power unit was also ablaze, the television added.
There were reports of extensive disruption to traffic in the Monday morning rush hour as a number of major roads were closed.
The Iranian weapons were seized under a 2007 sanctions resolution adopted by the Security Council.
It requires that "Iran shall not supply, sell or transfer from its territory any arms and related materiel, and that all states shall prohibit the procurement of such items from Iran."
Israeli media reported that the Monchegorsk was suspected of carrying Iranian arms destined for the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and was detained by the Cypriot authorities in response to requests from both Israel and the United States.
Israel has long accused Iran of arming Islamists in Gaza, a charge Tehran denies even though it says it offers moral support to Hamas.
Iran reacted furiously to the interception of the cargo bound for Syria, its main Arab ally, and strongly denied accusations that the weapons were intended for either Hamas or the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
