Iran accuses Israel of attacking its uranium enrichment nuclear facility and vows “revenge”

Iran on Monday accused Israel behind the attack on his Natanz uranium enrichment plant and vowed “revenge” amid diplomatic efforts to get the 2015 international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program back on track.

More than 24 hours after the incident, the circumstances, its modus operandi and the extent of the damage remain unclear.

The European Union (EU) and Russia, which are participating in diplomatic negotiations with the Islamic Republic to reinvigorate the agreement on its nuclear program, said they expected what happened in Natanz don’t undermine discussions.

The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (IAEA), Behrouz Kamalvandi, appeared to downplay the incident by stating on Monday that “The electricity distribution center” of the plant of Natanz, in the center of the country, was affected by a “small explosion” around 05:00 on Sunday.

According to him, the damage can be repaired “quickly”, an observation that contrasts with the statements of the head of the IAEA, Ali Akbar Salehi, who had previously told the Fars news agency that it was necessary to activate the emergency power system.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for Iranian diplomacy, Said Khatibzadeh, said Monday morning that it was still “too early” to assess the damage of what it called “terrorist” act perpetrated by Israel, which would have damaged several centrifuges used to enrich uranium.

For its part, the New York Times quoted officials from the Israeli and American intelligence services, pointing out that “Israel played a role” in what happened in Natanz, where, according to these sources, “A strong explosion” would have “totally destroyed […] the internal electrical system that powers the centrifuges ”.

It was in this same plant of the nuclear complex of Natanz, one of the nerve centers of the Islamic Republic’s atomic program, where Tehran began testing new interconnected sets of centrifuges on Saturday.

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies on January 28, 2020 shows the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran, south of the capital Tehran. (Photo: AFP). (- /)

These machines offer Iran the possibility of enriching uranium more quickly, in quantities and degree of refinement prohibited by the 2015 agreement.

“More advanced centrifuges”

Khatibzadeh indirectly accused Israel to wreck the ongoing talks in Vienna to try to get the United States back to the 2015 international agreement and lift sanctions against Tehran.

Khatibzadeh He promised that “Iran’s response will be revenge against the Zionist regime at the right time and place.”

The Irna press agency indicated that several deputies said that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had “stressed … the need not to fall into the trap set by the Zionists.”

“But we will not allow [que Israel haga descarrilar las conversaciones de Viena] and we will take revenge on the Zionists for these actions ”, reportedly said, according to the same sources, during a closed-door meeting in parliament about the attack on Natanz.

The United States, under the presidency of Donald Trump, unilaterally denounced in 2018 the nuclear agreement with Iran reached in Vienna three years earlier, re-establishing the US sanctions that had been lifted within the framework of the pact.

In retaliation, since 2019 Iran has backed away from most of the key commitments to limit its nuclear activities that it made in Vienna.

Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump in January, signaled his intention to rejoin the Vienna accord.

For his part, Heiko Maas, the head of German diplomacy, one of the signatories of the 2015 agreement, said on Monday that recent events “are not positive” for the ongoing negotiations.

“Undermine the negotiations”

“We reject any attempt to undermine or derail ongoing diplomatic activities”, Declared the EU, which is coordinating the negotiations, adding that the circumstances of what happened at the Natanz “They must be clarified in depth.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said on Monday that it hopes that “what happened [en Natanz] do not become a ‘gift’ to the various opponents of the agreement and do not undermine the negotiations.

Tehran has always denied wanting an atomic bomb, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses it of.

On Monday, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will prevent Iran from equipping itself with the nuclear weapon but avoided mentioning the incident that occurred in Natanz.

“I will never allow Iran to have nuclear capability as to carry out his genocidal objective of eliminating Israel, and Israel will continue to defend itself against Iran’s aggression and terrorism “he declared.