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An accident at the Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz this Sunday (11) was the result of a “terrorist” act, said the country’s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, according to state TV.
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He said that the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) need to deal with what he called nuclear terrorism. He added that Iran reserves the right to take action against those responsible, TV reported.
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Iran had reported earlier on Sunday that a problem with the electrical distribution network at the Natanz facility caused an incident.
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“The Islamic Republic of Iran, while condemning this useless action, highlights the need for the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to tackle anti-nuclear terrorism,” Salehi said in a statement transmitted by the state broadcaster.
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The “accident” occurred the day after Natanz’s Chahid-Ahmadi-Rochan complex put new sets of centrifuges into operation, despite being prohibited by the agreement in relation to the Iranian nuclear program, signed in 2015.
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The plant is one of the main centers of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
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“We had an accident in a part of the electrical grid at the Chahid-Ahmadi-Rochan enrichment facility. There is a blackout […], but we don’t know the cause, “he said earlier quoting Iranian Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi in a telephone interview with a state broadcaster, implying that the flaw had not yet been repaired in the middle of the morning. .
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Kamalvandi did not specify whether the blackout occurred only at the enrichment plant or whether it also affected other facilities in the complex.
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“Fortunately, there were no deaths, injuries or contamination. There was no particular problem, the accident is being investigated,” the spokesman told the broadcaster, adding that “he had no further information so far”.
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“This incident, which occurred [no dia seguinte] National Nuclear Technology Day and with Iran making an effort for Westerners to lift sanctions, it is highly suspected of [funcionar como um ato de] sabotage or infiltration, “Mr Malek Chariati, spokesman for the Parliamentary Energy Commission, reported on Twitter.
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“It is considered that the failure in the Natanz electrical circuit [é] result of an Israeli cybernetic operation “, tweeted the journalist of the Israeli public broadcaster Amichai Stein, without providing data to substantiate this claim.
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In early July, a centrifuge assembly plant in Natanz was seriously damaged by a mysterious explosion. The authorities concluded that this was the result of “sabotage” of “terrorist” origin, but they have not yet released the results of the investigation.
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At that time, the official agency Irna warned Israel and the United States that they should avoid any hostile action.
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On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani opened the new Natanz centrifuge assembly plant remotely, while ordering them to proceed with the three new sets of centrifuges to be started or tested.
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This will allow Iran to enrich Iran more quickly and in greater quantities, in volumes and with a level of refinement prohibited by the agreement, signed in Vienna between the Islamic Republic and the international community, in 2015.
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