In a television interview, the outgoing head of the Israeli foreign intelligence service, Yossi Cohen, reiterated the role Israel played in the murder of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and in the explosion at the uranium enrichment plant in Natans.

In July of last year and in April of this year there were acts of sabotage in Natans.

When asked where Cohen would take his interviewee in Natans, if possible, the Mossad boss replied: "In the basement, because the centrifuges were turning there".

Today, according to Cohen, “it doesn't look like it used to”.

Jochen Stahnke

Political correspondent for Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan based in Tel Aviv.

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    In the program "Uvda" (fact), which was allegedly released by the Israeli military censorship, Cohen's interviewer described the saboteurs' approach in her words.

    "The man responsible for the explosions made sure to deliver the marble floors to the Iranians on which the centrifuges would be placed," she said.

    "When they laid the ground in the Natans facility, they did not know that it already contained a large amount of explosives." Cohen himself did not acknowledge Israel's responsibility for the attack.

    Warning to Iranian scientists

    Once again, Cohen warned Iranian scientists to participate in the country's nuclear program. "If the scientists are willing to change their careers and not harm us anymore, then yes, sometimes we offer them a way out," says Cohen. The Mossad has already made corresponding offers to Iranians in the past. Fakhrizadeh was observed by the Mossad for years.

    Cohen has been heavily criticized for having done an unusually large amount of publicity for his position at the top of the secretly operating Mossad. He was also accused of being close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and mutual wealthy friends. Cohen now said that accepting twenty thousand dollars from billionaire James Packer for Cohen's daughter's wedding was a mistake. Packer had also regularly provided gifts to the Netanyahu family. Cohen replied in the affirmative when asked whether he could one day imagine himself becoming Israel's prime minister.

    Netanyahu's confidante also defended this by saying that Netanyahu went public two years ago when he presented the contents of the so-called Iranian nuclear archive that had been confiscated by the Mossad and brought to Israel. Its content basically shows that Iran operated a nuclear weapons program from 1999 to 2003 and preserved the relevant knowledge.

    Israel emphasizes that Iran continues to work consistently on this. “It was important for us that the world saw that,” said Cohen, but it was also a matter of showing the Iranian leadership: “Dear friends, first of all you have been infiltrated. Second, we see you. Third, the era of lies is over, ”said Cohen. According to the broadcast, twenty agents but no Israeli citizen were involved in the operation. All of these agents survived, Cohen said, but some were rescued from Iran. In June Cohen was replaced as Mossad leader by David Barnea.