A deadly blast at an Iranian military base this month may have slowed the Islamic republic's nuclear programme, a senior Israeli military official said in a report on Monday.

"The explosion at the site where ground-to-ground missiles are developed could delay or even bring a complete halt to the production of these missiles at that site," said General Itai Baron, head of the military's intelligence research unit, quoted by the media.

The general, who was speaking before Israel's parliamentary committee for defence and foreign affairs, said that Iran also has other sites for the development of these missiles.

According to Haaretz newspaper, he denied "speculation" that Israel or the United States were responsible for the November 12 blast which killed at least 36 Revolutionary Guards at the base in Bid Ganeh, near Tehran.

Among those who died was Iranian General Hassan Moqaddam.

Iran's military has repeatedly said the explosion was the result of an accident.

The chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, General Hassan Firouzabadi, has said the base was being used in the production of "an experimental product" being developed to unleash "a strong fist in the face" of the United States and Israel.

He did not elaborate, but said development of the military product had been delayed by "two weeks" because of the blast.

US, EU threaten further measures against Iran
Washington (AFP) Nov 28, 2011 - The United States and the European Union threatened "additional measures" against Iran on Monday over its suspect nuclear activities and reiterated that it must address international concerns.

Britain, Canada and the United States slapped sanctions last week on Iran's financial, petrochemical and energy sectors, and the European Union is expected to follow suit after the bloc's foreign ministers meet on Thursday.

The fresh wave of sanctions follow a report by the UN atomic energy watchdog -- dismissed as baseless by Iran -- that strongly suggests Tehran is researching nuclear weapons.

After a US-EU summit in Washington on Monday, Washington and Brussels underlined their determination "to work toward a diplomatic solution" to the Iranian nuclear crisis, as speculation grows of a possible Israeli strike.

The US-EU joint statement said they would "consider additional measures given Iran's continued failure to abide by its international obligations."

The West accuses Iran of seeking a nuclear bomb, a charge the Islamic republic has repeatedly denied.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hit back on Saturday at the new raft of Western sanctions, saying: "They keep making it more difficult for them to negotiate with us."

Iran is already subject to four sets of UN sanctions designed to pressure it to halt its uranium enrichment activities, as well as the unilateral Western sanctions.

Russia and China have slammed the latest Western sanctions, calling them illegal and a barrier to resuming stalled negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

Iran's parliament voted on Sunday to expel the British ambassador in retaliation and warned that other countries could also be punished.

The US-EU joint statement also noted a recent alleged plot by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard to assassinate the Saudi envoy to Washington, and stressed "our determination to ensure the perpetrators and their accomplices are held to account."