Iran charged on Monday that its archenemy Israel was behind
an attack on its Natanz uranium enrichment plant and vowed it would take
“revenge” and ramp up its nuclear activities.
اضافة اعلان
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said a “small
explosion” had hit the plant’s electricity distribution center on Sunday in
what the foreign ministry called an Israeli act of “terrorism”.
The latest of a string of incidents hitting Iran’s nuclear
program came days after talks resumed in Vienna to salvage the battered 2015
Iranian nuclear deal that former US president Donald Trump abandoned.
His successor Joe Biden wants to revive the accord between
Iran and six world powers, which places limits on Tehran’s nuclear program in
return for relief from punishing economic sanctions.
Israel strongly opposes the nuclear deal and has vowed to
stop Iran from building an atomic bomb — a goal Tehran has always denied
pursuing.
Iran initially reported a power blackout had hit the Natanz
site Sunday, a day after it announced it had started up advanced uranium
enrichment centrifuges banned under the deal.
Israel did not claim responsibility for the incident, but
unsourced media reports in the country attributed it to the Israeli security
services carrying out a “cyber operation”.
The New York Times, quoting unnamed US and Israeli
intelligence officials, also said there had been “an Israeli role” in the
attack in which an explosion had “completely destroyed” the power system that
fed the site’s “underground centrifuges”.
The White House on Monday said the US “was not involved in
any manner”, in the attack.
“We have nothing to add on speculation about the causes or
the impacts,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while hosting US
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Jerusalem, reiterated his stance that
Israel will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, without mentioning
the Natanz incident.
“I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to
carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel, and Israel will continue to
defend itself against Iran’s aggression and terrorism,” he said Monday.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Khatibzadeh vowed that
Iran’s response to the Natanz incident would be to take “revenge on the Zionist
regime” when and where Tehran chooses.
“Of course the Zionist regime, with this action, tried to
take revenge on the people of Iran for their patience and wise attitude
regarding the lifting of sanctions.”
AEOI head Ali Akbar Salehi said “this incident was certainly
sabotage”, state news agency IRNA reported.
In a separate report, Fars news agency quoted Salehi as
saying “the damaged centrifuges will be replaced with even more powerful” ones.
In a related incident, AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi had
an accident Sunday while inspecting the site when he “fell from a few meters
and suffered light fractures on his feet and head”, IRNA reported.
Kamalvandi gave a video interview from his hospital bed
Monday to the Tasnim news agency in which he voiced confidence that after the
“small explosion... they can quickly repair the damaged areas”.
Avoiding ‘trap’
Tehran has blamed Israel for previous attacks on its nuclear
facilities and experts — including the killing last November of its top nuclear
scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Natanz was the site of a previous incident in July, during
which a building was damaged, and some Iranian media also blamed Israel.
Israel and Iran have long fought a shadow war, with Israel
often striking Iran-allied forces in war-torn Syria. And since March, both
countries have accused each other of a number of maritime attacks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran
would not allow the Natanz attack to affect the Vienna talks. Iran must avoid
“falling in the trap” set by Israel, he told parliamentarians.
Russia said it was closely following what it called a
“serious incident” and “if it is confirmed that someone’s malicious actions are
behind this incident, then such intent deserves strong condemnation”.
Germany, a partner to the nuclear accord, warned that the
“development in Natanz” was “not a positive contribution” to the negotiations.
Qatar denounced “a dangerous act of sabotage that would
increase tension and negatively affect the security and stability of the
region”.
The European Union said it “rejects any attempts” to
undermine the Vienna talks and stressed the “need to clarify the facts” over
the incident.
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