Iran says Natanz was hit by ‘small explosion’

TEHRAN: The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said Monday its Natanz plant was hit by a “small explosion” the previous day, after the government labelled it an act of “sabotage”.

“The incident ocurred at the electricity distribution centre. There was a small explosion,” AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told the Tasnim news agency, adding that the “damaged sectors can be quickly repaired”.

Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Monday it hoped a power outage at Iran’s Natanz uranium plant, would not “undermine” progress on nuclear talks.

The Natanz site near Tehran was hit by a power outage on Sunday, a day after Iran said it started up advanced Uranium enrichment centrifuges in breach of a hobbled 2015 agreement on curbing the country’s nuclear ambitions. On Monday, Tehran labelled the power outage “terrorism” and blamed it on Israel.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that it was closely following the situation surrounding the “serious incident”.

“If it is confirmed that someone’s malicious actions are behind this incident, then such intent deserves strong condemnation,” it said.

The ministry added that it is “alarming how this situation” could affect talks in Vienna on reviving the deal, which are set to resume Wednesday.

The signatories to the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are trying to keep it alive after former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

“We hope that what happened will not become a ‘gift’ to the assorted opponents of the JCPOA and will not undermine the consultations that are gaining momentum... to revive these agreements,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

Moscow has pushed for Washington and Tehran to return to the deal, which Israel strongly opposes.

Meanwhile, the European Union on Monday warned against attempts to derail talks aimed at returning the United States to the Iran nuclear deal.

EU spokesman Peter Stano said the reported incident “could have been an act of sabotage” but insisted that there had been no official attribution over who was responsible.

“We still need to clarify the facts in detail as quickly as possible,” he said, adding: “We reject any attempts to undermine or weaken diplomatic efforts on the nuclear agreement.” —