The American New York Times quoted officials familiar with the intelligence service as saying that the targeting of the Iranian nuclear facility, Natanz, yesterday, Sunday, caused a large explosion that completely destroyed the internal energy system of the facility, which will limit Iran's ability to enrich uranium.
The two officials - who spoke on condition of anonymity and spoke about a secret Israeli operation - said that the explosion was a severe blow, as it destroyed the independent internal electricity network of the Natanz facility - which is highly protected - which supplies energy to the underground centrifuges, and that the facility may need at least 9 months To restore its production capacity.
The newspaper said that if the information regarding the major damage to the facility is proven correct, this may significantly limit Iran's negotiating ability during the new negotiations through which the Biden administration seeks to return to the nuclear agreement.
The New York Times indicated that it was not clear how much information the Biden administration received regarding the attack on Natanz, which coincided with a visit by the US Secretary of Defense to Israel.
It is noteworthy that the attack on the Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan occurred just one day after the operation of new advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium at a higher rate than allowed by the nuclear agreement signed between Iran and the major powers in 2015.
The Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister announced hours after the incident that his country would continue enriching uranium by 20%.
Also, a spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Behrouz Kamalundi, said yesterday, Sunday, that a partial technical failure occurred in the electricity distribution network in one of the sections of the Natanz nuclear facility, and added that the accident did not cause casualties and did not cause any pollution.
Iran officially accused Israel of carrying out the attack on the Natanz nuclear facility, and pledged revenge, while the Iranian Atomic Energy Authority confirmed that the facility's uranium enrichment was not affected.
Iranian state television quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif as saying today, during a meeting of the National Security Council, that Israel is responsible for what he described as the sabotage act that took place yesterday at the Natanz nuclear facility, and that his country will take revenge.
Zarif said, "The Zionists want to take revenge on the Iranian people for the successes they have achieved in the path of lifting the unjust embargo, but we will not allow that, and we will take revenge on the Zionists for their practices."
He stressed that Iran would not allow Israel to influence the nuclear negotiations, and that what happened in Natanz would not weaken his country's negotiating capabilities, indicating that it would equip the targeted nuclear facility with the latest devices.