"A young man was killed when a rocket landed on a road in the district of Khosrowabad outside the city of Abadan at around 1600 local time (1130 GMT)," a deputy governor general of Khuzestan province was quoted as telling the student ISNA news agency.

The official said he had no further details on the incident, but speculated that "the rocket was probably fired by American-British aircraft" which are fighting to topple the regime in neighbouring Iraq.

"The report of the incident has been sent to the interior ministry so that the foreign ministry could pursue the case," he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi recently confirmed that two rockets hit the country during the first days of the war.

The first missile hit a refinery building in Abadan, located across the border from the embattled southern Iraqi cities of Umm Qasr and Basra, injuring two people. The second crashed in Sardasht, near Iraqi Kurdistan, without causing any injuries.

Iraqi forces were believed to have fired the Sardasht missile.

However, the Iranian press has reported up to two other rocket or missile explosions.

SPACE.WIRE