Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization: Natanz Facility Explosion Was Sabotage

The spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization confirmed for the first time that the explosion at the Natanz nuclear facility was the result of “sabotage.” On the eve of talks between major powers in Vienna, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency will travel to Tehran on Monday.

Behruz Kamalvandi said in an interview with Al-Alam network yesterday, Sunday: “An act of sabotage occurred at Natanz, but security officials will announce the details at an appropriate time”.

Kamalvandi emphasized: “Security investigations confirm the sabotage nature of this act, and what is certain is that an explosion occurred at Natanz, but security officials will announce at an appropriate time the details of how this explosion took place, what materials were used, and the specifics of it”.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is scheduled to travel to Tehran today, Monday, the 3rd of Shahrivar (August 24), before attending a meeting of major world powers together with Iran in Vienna.

This international body has requested access to two facilities “one near the city of Shahreza in Isfahan and another near Tehran.” Iran had opposed the nuclear agency’s access to these two facilities.

According to the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization: “Iran was not opposed to access to its nuclear facilities from the beginning, but believes that the Agency’s questions should be based on solid foundations, documents, and serious reasons. Questions based on espionage allegations and matters of this sort are absolutely unacceptable and will remain so, and providing access to the Agency is conditional on all questions and ambiguities being resolved once and for all”.

“Significant” Damage

Behruz Kamalvandi announced on the 12th of Tir the occurrence of an incident at the Natanz fuel enrichment plant in Isfahan Province and stated: “One of the halls under construction in the open area of the Natanz site was damaged”.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council reported one day after this incident of “significant” damage to the facility as a result of the explosion and added that due to “security considerations” it would announce the details of the explosion and its cause “at an appropriate time”.

American newspaper The New York Times reported in its coverage that in “the balancing hall of centrifuges that were not yet operational,” an explosion occurred that was likely the result of Israeli sabotage.

Javad Karimi Qodousi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, reported on the first day of Mordad that according to Iranian officials, the Natanz explosion occurred due to a “breach in security and protection matters” and “sabotage”.

Over the past two months, several explosions and fires have occurred at Iranian military and industrial facilities, drawing the attention of mass media and political circles, including an explosion near the Parchin facility east of Tehran whose light was visible in other areas of the city, an explosion at an electrical distribution center in Shiraz, and an explosion and fire at a clinic in northern Tehran.

Source: DW