Incident Occurs at Natanz Enrichment Facilities; Site of Incident Was ‘Iran Centrifuge Assembly Center’
The spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced on Thursday, June 2, that an “incident” occurred at the uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz, Isfahan Province.
According to ISNA news agency, citing Behrouz Kamalvandi, the organization’s spokesman, the “incident” took place in one of the warehouses in the “open area” of the Natanz facilities.
No information is yet available about the nature of the event that this Islamic Republic official refers to as an “incident” or its cause.
According to Mr. Kamalvandi, the warehouse where the incident occurred was “under construction in the open area of the Natanz site.”
The spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said: “This incident resulted in no casualties and caused no damage to the ongoing activities of this complex.”
The uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz cover an area of approximately 100,000 square meters and are built eight meters underground. This site is Iran’s main uranium enrichment center and is under the supervision of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, announced in late March that a new generation of centrifuges would soon be unveiled at the Natanz enrichment facilities, and work is underway on manufacturing several fuel assemblies for reactor cores at Arak and power reactors.
The Natanz facilities also made headlines in November last year when Iran expelled an inspector from the International Atomic Energy Agency and subsequently accused him of intending to commit “industrial sabotage” at the Natanz nuclear facilities.
The Natanz “incident” occurs less than a week after a loud explosion and bright light were observed in eastern Tehran, becoming the country’s top headline.
Media outlets and users of social networks in Iran reported on the morning of Friday, June 26, a loud sound and the observation of an orange light in eastern Tehran.
Hours later, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Defense announced that the intense light resulted from an explosion of “a gas tank in the public area of Parchin” and “caused no casualties.”
However, examination of videos published on social networks suggested that the explosion site was in the Khajeh area of Tehran, not Parchin. A day later, satellite imagery confirmed this assumption.
BBC Persian also reports that hours before the announcement of the Natanz incident early Thursday morning, a group called “Cheetahs of the Homeland” claimed responsibility for the aforementioned incident in an email to the network’s correspondents.
According to one BBC Persian correspondent, the email claimed that members of “Cheetahs of the Homeland” are present and active in Iran’s security apparatus.
Source: Radio Farda
