Middle East Desk
Report
Tehran: Iran on Monday blamed Israel for a sabotage attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged the centrifuges it uses to enrich uranium there, warning that it would take revenge for the assault.
The comments by Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh represent the first official accusation levelled against Israel for the incident on Sunday that cut power across the facility. Israel has not directly claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicion fell immediately on it as Israeli media widely reported that a devastating cyberattack orchestrated by Israel caused the blackout.
If Israel was responsible, it would further heighten tensions between the two nations, already engaged in a shadow conflict across the wider Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met on Sunday with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, has vowed to do everything in his power to stop the nuclear deal. The event was initially described as a blackout caused by the electrical grid feeding its above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls.
“The answer for Natanz is to take revenge against Israel,” Khatibzadeh said. “Israel will receive its answer through its own path.” He did not elaborate. Khatibzadeh acknowledged that IR-1 centrifuges, the first-generation workhorse of Iran’s uranium enrichment, had been damaged in the attack, but did not elaborate.
