Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Consumer Spending Falls as Trump Tariff’s Muddle Economy

1 day ago

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

1 day ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

1 day ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

1 day ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

1 day ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

1 day ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

2 days ago

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

2 days ago

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

2 days ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

3 days ago
Iran Blames Israel for Sabotage at Natanz Nuclear Site
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
April 12, 2021

Share

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran blamed Israel on Monday for an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges — sabotage that imperils ongoing talks over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal and brings a shadow war between the two countries into the light.

Tension Continues Between Iran and Isreal

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli media widely reported that the country had orchestrated a devastating cyberattack that caused a blackout at the nuclear facility. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the country’s secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency.

While the nature of the attack and the extent of the damage at Natanz remains unclear, a former Iranian official said the assault set off a fire while a spokesman mentioned a “possible minor explosion.”

The attack also further strains relations between the U.S., which under President Joe Biden is now negotiating in Vienna to re-enter the nuclear accord, and Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to stop the deal at all costs.

Netanyahu met Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose arrival in Israel coincided with the first word of the attack. The two spoke briefly to journalists but took no questions.

“My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel,” Netanyahu said. “And Israel will continue to defend itself against Iran’s aggression and terrorism.”

US Efforts to Re-Engage May be Hindered

At an earlier news conference at Israel’s Nevatim air base, Austin declined to say whether the Natanz attack could impede the Biden administration’s efforts to re-engage with Iran in its nuclear program.

“Those efforts will continue,” Austin said. The previous American administration under Donald Trump had pulled out of the nuclear deal with world powers, leading Iran to begin abandoning the limits on its atomic program set by the accord.

But German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern that it could affect the talks. “All of what we are hearing from Tehran is not a positive contribution to this,” Maas told reporters.

In a statement, the White House said it was aware of the Natanz attack and that “the U.S. was not involved in any manner,” without elaborating.

Details remained scarce about what happened early Sunday at the facility. The event was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls — but later Iranian officials began referring to it as an attack.

Second Attack on Natanz in a Year

A former chief of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the attack had set off a fire at the site and called for improvements in security. In a tweet, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei said that the second assault at Natanz in a year signaled “the seriousness of the infiltration phenomenon.” Rezaei did not say where he got his information.

The facility seemed to be in such disarray that, following the attack, a prominent nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi walking above ground at the site fell 7 meters (23 feet) through an open ventilation shaft covered by aluminum debris, breaking both his legs and hurting his head.

“A possible minor explosion had scattered debris,” Kamalvandi said, without elaborating.

Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh acknowledged that IR-1 centrifuges, the first-generation workhorse of Iran’s uranium enrichment, had been damaged in the attack, but did not elaborate. State television has yet to show images from the site, which saw new advanced centrifuges turned on there Saturday.

“The answer for Natanz is to take revenge against Israel,” Khatibzadeh said. “Israel will receive its answer through its own path.” He did not elaborate.

Iran to Reconstruct Natanz with More Advanced Machines

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, meanwhile, warned Natanz would be reconstructed with more advanced machines. That would allow Iran to more quickly enrich uranium, complicating the nuclear talks.

“The Zionists wanted to take revenge against the Iranian people for their success on the path of lifting sanctions,” Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Zairf as saying. “But we do not allow (it), and we will take revenge for this action against the Zionists.”

Officials launched an effort Monday to provide emergency power to Natanz, said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s civilian nuclear program. He said the sabotage had not stopped enrichment there, without elaborating.

The IAEA, the United Nations body that monitors Tehran’s atomic program, earlier said it was aware of media reports about the blackout at Natanz and had spoken with Iranian officials about it. The agency did not elaborate.

Natanz has been targeted by sabotage in the past. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges there during an earlier period of Western fears about Tehran’s program.

In July, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for that, as well as the November killing of a scientist who began the country’s military nuclear program decades earlier.

Israel Suspected for a Number of Other Attacks on Iran

Israel also has launched a series of airstrikes in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian forces and their equipment. Israel also is suspected in an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen.

Multiple Israeli media outlets reported Sunday that an Israeli cyberattack caused the blackout, but it remains unclear what actually happened there. Public broadcaster Kan said the Mossad was behind the attack. Channel 12 TV cited “experts” as estimating the attack shut down entire sections of the facility.

While the reports offered no sourcing for their information, Israeli media maintains a close relationship with the country’s military and intelligence agencies.

In recent weeks, Netanyahu repeatedly has described Iran as the major threat to his country as he struggles to hold onto power after multiple elections and while facing corruption charges. Stopping the nuclear deal has been a repeated theme of his comments.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

DON'T MISS

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

DON'T MISS

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

DON'T MISS

Mamdani’s NYC Primary Win Sparks Surge in Anti-Muslim Posts, Advocates Say

DON'T MISS

Trump Sends in DOGE to Slash Federal Gun Regulations by July 4

DON'T MISS

Tensions Flare at Announcement of Major Fresno County Gang Takedown

DON'T MISS

Measure C ‘Blackmailed’ As Fresno Enviro Coalition Gets Huge Say on Transportation Tax

DON'T MISS

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

DON'T MISS

US Consumer Spending Falls as Trump Tariff’s Muddle Economy

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Trump Says a Deal Related to Trade Was Signed With China on Wednesday

UP NEXT

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

UP NEXT

No Known Intelligence That Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

UP NEXT

Israel Says Iran’s Supreme Leader Avoided Assassination by Going Underground

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

UP NEXT

How the United States Helped Create Iran’s Nuclear Program

UP NEXT

Israel Halts Aid Into Gaza, Official Says, Clans Deny Hamas Is Stealing It

UP NEXT

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

Mamdani’s NYC Primary Win Sparks Surge in Anti-Muslim Posts, Advocates Say

11 hours ago

Trump Sends in DOGE to Slash Federal Gun Regulations by July 4

1 day ago

Tensions Flare at Announcement of Major Fresno County Gang Takedown

1 day ago

Measure C ‘Blackmailed’ As Fresno Enviro Coalition Gets Huge Say on Transportation Tax

1 day ago

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

1 day ago

US Consumer Spending Falls as Trump Tariff’s Muddle Economy

1 day ago

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

1 day ago

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

1 day ago

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

1 day ago

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

1 day ago

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

Like a lot of people of center-right/center-left political leanings, I’ve spent the past few decades detesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netan...

9 hours ago

2022 Election Rally for Netanyahu
9 hours ago

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

University of Virginia President James Ryan Resigns
9 hours ago

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

10 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

Zohran Mamdani Speaks to Supporters
11 hours ago

Mamdani’s NYC Primary Win Sparks Surge in Anti-Muslim Posts, Advocates Say

American Flag Revolver
1 day ago

Trump Sends in DOGE to Slash Federal Gun Regulations by July 4

Rob_Bonta_Speaking_At_Press_Conference_1280x720
1 day ago

Tensions Flare at Announcement of Major Fresno County Gang Takedown

Garry_Bredefeld_Sandra_Celedon_Mesure_C_1280x720
1 day ago

Measure C ‘Blackmailed’ As Fresno Enviro Coalition Gets Huge Say on Transportation Tax

Fresno_Unified_Raises_1280x720
1 day ago

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend