Iran on Saturday identified a suspect in the attack on his Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there, saying he fled the country ‘hours before’ the sabotage took place.
Although the extent of the damage caused by the April 11 sabotage remains unclear, it comes as Iran tries to negotiate with the world powers to enable the US to re-enter its shattered nuclear power deal with world powers and the economic sanctions they face. , to lift.
Iran has already begun responding to uranium up to 60% purity – three times higher than ever before, albeit in small quantities. The sabotage and Iran’s response to it has further fueled tensions in the Middle East, where a shadow war between Tehran and Israel, the main suspect in the sabotage, is still raging.
State television has identified the suspect as 43-year-old Reza Karimi. It showed a passport photo of a man he identified as Karimi, saying he was born in the nearby city of Kashan, Iran.
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The report also selected a “red notice” from Interpol for its arrest. The arrest notice was not immediately available on the Interpol database. Interpol, based in Lyon, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the TV report, ‘essential actions’ are underway to bring Karimi back to Iran through legal channels, without expanding it. The alleged “red notice” from Interpol listed its foreign travel history as Ethiopia, Kenya, the Netherlands, Qatar, Romania, Turkey, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.
The report did not elaborate on how Karimi would gain access to one of the safest facilities in the Islamic Republic. However, authorities acknowledged for the first time that an explosion had hit the Natanz plant.
There was a “limited explosion of a small section of the electric supply path to the centrifuge hall,” reads the TV report. “The explosion occurred due to the function of explosive materials and there was no cyber attack.”
Initial reports in Israeli media, which maintain close ties with its military and intelligence services, blamed a cyber attack for the damage.
This satellite photo provided by Planet Labs Inc. provided, shows the nuclear facility in Iran at Natanz on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. On April 16, 2021, Iran enriched uranium to its highest level ever in Natanz, which moved closer to weapons level to levels. talks in Vienna aimed at restoring its nuclear deal with world powers after an attack on the ground. (Planet Labs via AP)
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The Iranian state TV report also said that there were images confirming the version of an explosion rather than a cyber attack offered by security services, but it did not broadcast the photos.
The report also showed centrifuges in a hall, as well as a warning tape at the Natanz plant. In one shot, a TV reporter interviewed an unnamed technician, who was shown from behind – probably a security measure because Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in attacks orchestrated by Israelis in the past.
“The sound you hear is the sound of machines running happily undamaged,” he said, the loud howl of the centrifuges heard in the background. “Many of the centrifuge chains that are experiencing shortcomings are now under control. Some of the work that has been disrupted will be back on track with the efforts of my colleagues.”
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In Vienna, negotiations on the agreement continued on Saturday. The 2015 agreement, from which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US in 2018, prevented Iran from storing enough highly enriched uranium to pursue a nuclear weapon if it were to opt in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, although the West and the IAEA say Tehran had an organized military nuclear program until the end of 2003. An annual U.S. intelligence report released Tuesday upholds the long-running U.S. assessment that Iran does not currently try not to build. a nuclear bomb.
Iran had earlier said it could use up to 60% of processed uranium for nuclear-powered ships. However, Iran does not currently have such ships in its fleet.
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The attack on Natanz was initially described only as an eclipse in its electrical network – but later Iranian officials began calling it an attack.
One Iranian official referred to several thousand centrifuges damaged and destroyed in a TV interview. However, no other official presented this figure and no images of the aftermath were released.