Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif issued a warning as he said, “Israel is responsible for Sunday’s blackout at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. Israel’s attack is nuclear terrorism, and Iran will avenge it.” Meanwhile, a US newspaper claimed the attack set back the Natanz nuclear facility by nine months. However, Iran announced the blast did not cause significant damage to the nuclear program, and it will soon be installing advanced centrifuges at the facility.
On Sunday morning, the power supply was cut off at the Natanz facility, which has facilities for uranium enrichment and operation of advanced centrifuges for Iran’s nuclear program. The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) avoided blaming Israel, saying the incident was an accident. Nevertheless, on Monday morning, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told state news channels that an act of nuclear terrorism targeted the Natanz plant.
Foreign Minister Zarif has threatened that “Iran is going to be free from sanctions after Vienna talks. That is what Israel does not want. Earlier, Israeli leaders had announced that they would not allow Iran to be free from sanctions. That is why Israel attacked the Natanz plant to provoke Iran. However, Iran will retaliate against Israel.” Also, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has criticized Israel’s efforts to maintain sanctions on Iran as a failure.
A suspect in the Natanz attack has been identified. An Iranian government-affiliated website claims that the suspect has not yet been arrested and that Iranian special forces are working on it. The Mossad, Israel’s central intelligence agency, has been held responsible for the Natanz nuclear plant attack, stated an Israeli media report, citing Western intelligence sources.
The Israeli government has refrained from commenting on the developments. Aviv Kochavi, chief of Israel Defense Forces (IDF), made a suggestive statement and said, “The enemy may now have realized Israel’s capabilities.”
Sunday’s attack delivered a set back to Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity by nine months. As the incident directly impacts Iran’s nuclear program, that too has been set back by nine months, US news outlet The New York Times said. The newspaper states the attack was aimed at dealing blows to Iran’s nuclear program, but Iran has denied the allegations. Also, the Iranian Foreign Ministry explained that the old centrifuges at the nuclear plant would be removed and replaced with advanced centrifuges.
Earlier, in 2010, a cyberattack on the same nuclear plant by the Stuxnet virus destroyed more than a thousand centrifuges at Iran’s nuclear plant. It had set back Iran’s nuclear program. Iran had then accused Israel and the United States of collaboratively carrying out the Stuxnet cyberattack. This time, however, the US’s Biden administration is in talks with Iran and is repeatedly indicating that the efforts would soon yield success.
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