Two powerful blasts at a military base to the west of Tehran have killed at least 17 people and wounded many more, local media reports say.

The semi-official Fars news agency carried a statement by the Revolutionary Guard Corps which said that the blasts occurred on Saturday in an ammunition depot at a base in Bidganeh, near the city of Karaj.

The explosions, which were originally reported as in a gas-distribution station, hit "a military base" west of the capital, Alireza Jane, responsible for security issues in the Tehran governor's office, told the ISNA news agency.

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that the blasts took place close to the mountains in the village where the Revolutionary Guard base is located.

The Red Crescent has deployed search and rescue crews to the scene, and over 15 ambulances have arrived at the location.

The blasts shattered the windows of residential neighbourhoods in the western suburbs of Tehran, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

They were heard up to 45km away.