Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused Israel of sabotage at the Iranian nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz.

According to him, Israel's main goal was allegedly to disrupt the talks on the Iranian nuclear deal.

“The sabotage in Natanz will not weaken our negotiating position.

Let the parties to the negotiations know that the reactor at Natanz will be equipped with more advanced centrifuges and high enrichment capabilities, ”the Iranian news agency IRNA quotes the minister.

The Iranian Foreign Minister threatened Israel with a response, and also noted that the latter allegedly openly stated that he would not allow Tehran to move forward in lifting the sanctions. 

“And he thinks he succeeded in that.

Our answer will be another breakthrough in nuclear development, ”the minister stressed, speaking at a meeting with the national and foreign policy commission of the parliament.

Recall, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran on April 11 reported an accident in the electrical distribution network at the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz.

Later, the head of the organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said that the accident was allegedly the result of an attack and "nuclear terrorism."

At the same time, it was noted that as a result of the incident, there were no victims or the threat of environmental pollution.

"At the nuclear facility in Natanz, no harm was done to either people or the environment, but this could lead to a catastrophe, which is a crime against humanity," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzade quoted TASS as saying.

It is worth noting that the incident occurred against the background of the Iranian authorities' announcement about the commissioning of new IR-5 and IR-6 centrifuges in Natanz, which would speed up the uranium enrichment process.

  • Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif

  • Reuters

Israeli trace statements

Israel itself has not yet given any comments on this topic.

However, some local and Israeli media wrote that the Israeli intelligence service "Mossad" could allegedly be involved in the incident, citing sources in the special services.

Initially, it was reported that the power grid disaster at Natanz could have been caused by a cyber attack.

However, The New York Times and The Jerusalem Post noted in their materials that a powerful explosion could have been the cause.

According to publications from Israel and the United States, the Natanz facility suffered significant damage, and it will take at least nine months to restore the uranium enrichment centrifuges.

According to The New York Times, Israel "for reasons of principle does not confirm or deny the commission of such actions."

At the same time, The Jerusalem Post noted in its material that the chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Aviv Kochavi, allegedly indirectly hinted at the country's involvement in this incident in a recent appeal on the occasion of the day of remembrance of the fallen soldiers.

"The actions of the Israel Defense Forces throughout the Middle East are not hidden from the eyes of our enemies, who are watching us, seeing our potential and carefully considering the next steps," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

The Jerusalem Post noted that this is not the first sabotage against the nuclear facilities at Natanz.

So, according to him, in 2010, the United States and Israel attacked an object using the StuxNet malware - this led to the destruction of more than 1,000 centrifuges, the newspaper claims.

In addition, in the summer of 2020, a fire occurred at the facility.

Representatives of the Iranian nuclear regulator then also accused Israel of involvement in it. 

Concerns over the April 11 incident have already been expressed in the EU.

Thus, the representative of the European Foreign Policy Service Peter Stano said that Brussels calls for clarification of the situation around the events at the nuclear facility in Natanz. 

Stano added that the European Union rejects any action that could negate efforts to resolve the issue of the Iranian nuclear program.

Moscow also expressed its concerns.

“In this situation, it is not only the threats to nuclear and radiation safety that are causing concern, which Iranian specialists were able to deal with in a timely and professional manner.

If it is confirmed that someone's malicious actions are behind this incident, then such an intent deserves strong condemnation, ”said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

“We hope that what happened will not become a“ gift ”to the various opponents of the JCPOA and will not undermine the consultations that are gaining momentum on the“ Vienna site ”on reviving these agreements,” Zakharova added.

Blow to negotiations

The incident at the Natanz site took place against the backdrop of negotiations in Vienna on the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Action Plan).

This international agreement, also known as the Iranian nuclear deal, was signed with Tehran in 2015.

with the participation of the USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia and China.

According to the terms of the treaty, the Iranian side abandoned attempts to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting economic sanctions from the country.

However, in May 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA.

Washington claimed that Tehran allegedly violated the terms of the deal.

At the same time, the rest of the parties to the treaty and the IAEA have repeatedly stressed that Iran fulfills all conditions and does not develop nuclear weapons.

Following Washington's withdrawal from the agreement, the Donald Trump administration resumed sanctions against Iran and imposed new restrictions.

  • Nuclear power plant in Iranian Bushehr

  • AFP

Joe Biden announced during his campaign that he plans to return Washington to the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan.

After Biden's victory in the US presidential election, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed the intention of the head of the White House to make the US part of the deal with Iran again.

However, in February 2021, Biden said that Washington did not intend to take the first step and lift sanctions from Iran in order to return Tehran to the negotiating table on the JCPOA.

On April 6-9, in Vienna, Iranian officials held face-to-face meetings with representatives of Germany, France, Great Britain, China and Russia on the Iranian nuclear deal.

Despite the presence of representatives of Washington at the talks, there were no direct contacts between them and the Iranians - Tehran opposed this.

Nevertheless, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas described the consultations as constructive.

Professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Vavilov believes that the incident in Natanz will not slow down the progress of the Iranian nuclear program.

"Iran will restore the operation of the facility, it has the technical capabilities for this, so this incident will not particularly affect the further development of Tehran in this area," the expert said.

At the same time, such provocations may negatively affect the negotiation process on a nuclear deal due to additional tension between their participants, Vavilov added.

“Iran is now getting a reason to refuse any compromises with the US and the West, as well as additional material for a counter-propaganda campaign against Israel.

However, Tehran is interested in this deal because it provides for the lifting of sanctions.

In addition, the nuclear deal is beneficial to everyone, given that it was achieved by the entire world community as a result of many years of negotiations, ”the political scientist explained.

Andrei Sidorov, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, in an interview with RT, suggested that a new sabotage at the nuclear facility in Natanz is unlikely to significantly change the position of Iran, with which it approaches negotiations on its nuclear program.

“Even without this incident, Iran has many reasons to refuse negotiations, for example, Washington's preservation of economic sanctions.

The resumption of the nuclear deal is a multi-layered and complex game, especially since the Biden administration would also like to return to the deal, while maintaining leverage on Tehran, ”said Andrei Sidorov.

In turn, Vavilov expressed confidence that the parties will eventually return to compliance with the JCPOA, since "there is simply no other option for resolving this issue."