Iran claims Natanz nuclear facility fire last month was 'caused by sabotage'

Iran nuclear body has said that the fire which occurred at a major nuclear facility last month was caused by sabotage. As per BBC reports, Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEO) has stated that the fire at Natanz nuclear facility was caused by sabotage but has not commented on who might have been behind the act.

As per reports, after the fire at the nuclear facility, some Iranian officials had hinted the fire could be a result of cyber sabotage. The news comes after the country has suffered from a string of fires and explosions mishaps at other power facilities and sites in recent weeks.

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An IAEO spokesperson while speaking to state media is reported to have stated that the relevant authorities would reveal the reason behind the Natanz blast in due time.

The fire at the Natanz facility is reported to have occurred at the central centrifuge in the assembly workshop. Centrifuges are required to make enriched uranium that is used to make reactor fuel but can also be repurposed into making nuclear weapons. Behrouz Kamalvandi, an IAEO spokesperson, after the fire last month had said the building that had caught fire would be wholly removed and replaced with more advanced equipment but the fire would delay development and production of centrifuges.

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The Natanz nuclear facility is located 250 kilometres from Tehran and is Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility. As per the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the country is only allowed to produce low-enriched uranium at concentrations of 3-4 percent to be used as fuel for nuclear power plants. Higher concentrations of enrichment would be in violation of the Iran nuclear deal. Weapons-grade uranium has an enrichment concentration of 90 percent. In exchange for such concessions to its nuclear programme, Iran was given relief from International sanctions.

The United States, under Donald Trump, decided to back out from the Iran deal and has been trying to unilaterally reinstate sanctions back on Iran without success. At the United Nations Security Council, the UN tried to put sanctions back in place but the resolution failed to pass and countries like Russia and China have expressed their unwillingness to reimpose sanctions of Iran.

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