Iranian officials on Sunday confirmed an “incident” at Natanz, an underground facility where uranium enrichment occurs. “Fortunately, the incident caused no injuries or human leaks,” said Behrouz Kamalvand, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI). “The causes of the accident are being investigated and more information will be announced later.”
AEOI condemned the incident, calling it a “terrorist act”, according to the Iranian telegram channel of the Revolution Guard Corps, or IRGC, a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces.
A few hours after Iranian officials reported the incident, Israeli army chief Aviv Kochavi said that “the country’s operations throughout the Middle East are not hidden from the eyes of enemies.”
“They are watching us, they are seeing the capabilities and they are carefully considering their footsteps,” he said, saying Sunday at a memorial service in Jerusalem to mark the fallen soldiers.
Reports from various Israeli media on Sunday quoted intelligence officials as saying that Israel’s national intelligence agency, the Mossad, was responsible for the incident. Although few details of unnamed officials are offered, some outlets described them as “Western intelligence sources,” although it is unclear whether “Western” includes the possibility that the sources are from Western sources. ‘Israel or not.
The Israeli prime minister’s office offered no comment on the reports, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Iran on Sunday in a toast to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.
“The fight against Iran and its proxies and Iranian arms efforts is a huge mission,” he said, presenting himself alongside the head of the Israeli Defense Forces, Kochavi and his senior commanders, as well as of Defense Minister Benny Gantz. “The situation that exists today will not necessarily be the one that will exist tomorrow.”
Netanyahu will meet Monday with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is visiting the country. It is the highest-level visit to Israel by a member of the Biden administration and comes days after talks in Vienna aimed at restarting negotiations on a possible new nuclear deal between Iran and a group of world powers led by the United States.
U.S. officials were also in Vienna and met with representatives of world powers that are still part of the deal. They did not meet directly with Iranian officials.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump began imposing new sanctions on Iran as he withdrew the United States from the deal. Iranian officials have maintained that the U.S. must withdraw all Trump-era sanctions and return to the nuclear deal before it can re-enforce the deal.
The Israeli leader reiterated this week his strong opposition to the prospect of a restored “Comprehensive Joint Action Plan” (JCPOA) agreement, which said Israel “would not be bound by any agreement that paves the way for Iran can develop nuclear weapons “.
Iran condemns “terrorist action”
Iranian leaders condemned the incident.
Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said: “Iran reserves the right to respond against the perpetrators and against those who committed the terrorist act,” the IRGC.
“Today’s attack shows that the enemies of Iran’s progress and advancement in nuclear science, as well as nuclear negotiations, are desperate for terrorist actions against nuclear technology in Natanz [nuclear facility]. “
According to reports from the Iranian news agency, other Iranian officials suggested that the facility may have been attacked, speculating that the plant may have been present as the country discusses the reactivation of the Iranian nuclear deal. with its Western signatories.
Malek Shariati Niaser, a member of the Iranian parliament, said: “The shutdown in Natanz on the anniversary of National Nuclear Day is suspicious and may be due to sabotage as Iran tries to convince Western countries to lift sanctions.” said the semi- was reported on the official news website Entekhab.ir.
An International Atomic Energy Agency spokesman told CNN on Sunday by email that the agency was aware of media reports.
“We have no comment at this stage,” he said.
On Saturday, during the 15th anniversary of Iran’s National Nuclear Technology Day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced new uranium enrichment centrifuges at the plant, stating that while Iran’s nuclear activities have “peaceful and civilian” purposes, the country’s nuclear capacity was also stronger than in any other country. time before.
“A chain of 164 IR-6 centrifuges has been launched today,” Rouhani said Saturday, according to state-run Press TV. “It can provide us with ten times more products than the old chain.”
The Natanz nuclear power plant lost a building when a fire broke out last July. The Iranian government said at the time that it was an attack on its nuclear program. It was also the target of the Stuxnet cyberattack in 2010, which security experts believe was carried out by Israel and the United States.
CNN’s Andrew Carey and Amir Tal reported from Jerusalem, Ramin Mostaghim from Tehran, Sarah Dean from London.