Iran accuses Israel of sabotage

Iran, Zarif warned, will not allow Israel to prevent the sanctions from being lifted

TEHRAN (Xinhua) — Iran on Monday accused Israel of plotting an incident at an Iranian nuclear facility to disrupt Iran’s efforts to have US sanctions lifted in the recent Vienna nuclear talks.

A blackout struck the Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran on Sunday morning. Media in Iran widely reported that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency was behind a cyberattack that caused the incident.

Israel “wants to take revenge on the Iranian people for their success in lifting the unjust sanctions, but we will not allow it,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by official news agency IRNA as saying on Monday.

Zarif said that the centrifuges damaged at the Natanz facility were the first generation, and will be replaced with more advanced devices, which will strengthen Iran’s position in the negotiations aiming to have US sanctions against Iran lifted.

Iran, Zarif warned, will not allow Israel to prevent the sanctions from being lifted, and will “take revenge on” Israel for the incident in Natanz.