Ahmadinejad unhurt in deadly gas blast

TEHRAN, May 24 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was unhurt by a deadly blast at the Abadan refinery in southern Iran, official sources said Tuesday.

Ahmadinejad was attending the inauguration of the first phase of a gasoline production unit at the refinery.

At least two people were killed and another 12 were injured in the incident. The semiofficial Mehr News Agency ruled out sabotage, blaming a leak for sparking the blast.

Meanwhile, an official said the president wouldn't attend the regular June meeting in Vienna for members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Shoja'eddin Bazargani, the director general for ministerial affairs at the Iranian Oil Ministry, said Ahmadinejad announced that an unnamed minister would represent Iran at the next OPEC meeting, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reports.

The move comes as Ahmadinejad locks horns with the country's ruling cleric, Ali Khamenei. Several of Ahmadinejad's top allies are under investigation, including one who is accused of sorcery.

Iran holds the one-year rotating presidency of OPEC and is a top producer in the oil cartel. The next meeting comes as consumers are facing post-recession highs for energy prices despite modest retreats.

Ahmadinejad fired three ministers as part of a plan announced in a mid-May effort to merge several energy-related ministries. Masoud Mir Kazemi, the former oil minister and close ally to the president, was dismissed as part of the shake-up.