Iran’s Natanz nuclear power plant suffered mysterious incident

Iran’s underground nuclear power plant in Natanz ran out of power on Sunday, a few hours after the start of new advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium more quickly, in an incident described by an Iranian lawmaker as a probable “sabotage” and by unidentified Western intelligence officials as a possible cyberattack.

Nuclear program spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told Iranian state television that power has been cut to the entire facility consisting of surface workshops and underground enrichment rooms. “We still don’t know the reason for this power failure and we need to investigate further, ”Kamalvandi said. “Fortunately, there were no casualties or damage and there is no pollution or particular problem,” he added.

The event, of which Kamalvandí did not give details, occurred in an area of ​​the Natanz power distribution network, where on July 2, 2020, there was an explosion in an assembly room of advanced centrifuges. Asked by the state television correspondent whether it was a “technical flaw or sabotage,” Kamalvandi declined to comment.

Later, The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization issued a statement denouncing the uranium enrichment plant as the target of an act of “anti-nuclear terrorism”. “The Islamic Republic of Iran, while condemning this futile action, stresses the need for the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to deal with this anti-nuclear terrorism,” said the head of the Iranian entity, Ali Akbar Saléhi, in a statement broadcast on public television.

Malek Shariati Niasar, a Tehran-based lawmaker who acts as spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s energy committee, wrote on Twitter that the incident was “strongly suspected of being sabotage or infiltration.”

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, which oversees Iran’s program, said it was “aware of media reports,” but declined to comment.

As Iranian officials investigate the blackout, Numerous Israeli media reported that it may have been a cyberattack and that the incident could have damaged a facility housing sensitive centrifuges. The reports cited Western intelligence sources.

The Iranian regime continues to fail to respect all of its international commitments and yesterday from the same factory where the incident occurred today on commissioning of new modern centrifuge sets to enrich uranium more quickly, the use of which is prohibited by the international agreement on its nuclear program signed in 2015.

President Hasan Rohani officially inaugurated a set of Centrifuges type 164 IR-6 and 30 IR-5, installed in the Natanz complex in central Iran, during a videoconference ceremony broadcast on state television.

News of the incident coincided with the arrival in Israel of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on a visit to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz. The United States, Israel’s main security partner, is trying to join the 2015 atomic accord aimed at limiting Tehran’s program so that it cannot acquire a nuclear weapon.

Natanz was built largely underground to withstand enemy air attacks. It became a hotspot for Western fears about Iran’s nuclear program in 2002, when satellite photos showed Iran was building its underground centrifuge facility at the site, some 200 kilometers south of the capital Tehran.

The nuclear complex is one of the sites monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as part of the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and six major powers.

To save this agreement and get the return of the United States, which withdrew in 2018, and Iran, which began to violate its commitments in 2019, meetings have been held in Vienna in recent days, which will take place. will continue next week.

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