Iran acknowledges significant damage to Natanz nuclear complex

The Islamic Republic of Iran has admitted a serious setback at the Natanz facility in the central province of Esfahan, one of its main nuclear sites, after an obscure incident caused a fire and considerable damage to the building.

The uranium enrichment plant is of great importance to Iran and has been a serious blow because this mishap could mean a delay in the evolution of advanced centrifuges, as recognized by the Atomic Energy Organization of the Persian nation. Although it is hoped that this setback will be overcome with new developments. "The incident could delay the development and production of advanced centrifuges in the medium term. Iran will replace the damaged building with a larger one and more advanced equipment," explained Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Iranian nuclear program governing body, in words collected by the Persian state news agency. "The incident has caused significant damage, but there were no victims," the institution's representative added. 

Iran's top nuclear security agency said Friday that the cause of the incident in Natanz had already been determined and would be announced later. Some Iranian officials said Thursday's fire may have been caused by cyber sabotage and various authorities warned that Tehran would retaliate against anyone responsible for these attacks. 

On the matter, Reuters agency managed to talk to three Iranian officials who did not want to reveal their identity and who said on Friday that they believed the fire came as a result of a cyber attack, but they did not offer clear evidence about it. 

The Natanz uranium enrichment plant, Iran's main uranium processing complex, is one of many facilities in the Persian country that is under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is part of the United Nations.

The atomic programme of the Islamic Republic of Iran has long been under the watchful eye of the international community. Above all, as a result of the dispute over the nuclear pact signed in 2015 between the Persian nation and the United States, France, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and Germany (JCPOA), which limited the Iranian atomic programme, mainly with regard to weapons. 

The US government of Donald Trump left the agreement in 2018 after denouncing irregularities committed by Iran and imposed a series of diplomatic and economic sanctions on the Middle Eastern country, among which those related to oil, the main source of financing of the Iranian state, stood out.

President Hassan Rohaní responded firmly by threatening not to respect the main points of the JCPOA, mainly regarding uranium enrichment and heavy water treatment, and also to block the Strait of Ormuz, the main passage area for world oil trade. 

In this scenario there were incidents related to cargo ships in the waters of the Gulf and attacks on oil and airport infrastructures in Saudi Arabia (a great enemy of Iran in the region and the standard of the Sunni branch of Islam, as opposed to the Shiite one defended by the regime of the Ayatollahs). These offensives were attributed by the international community to the action of Iran and pro-Iranian agents, such as the Huthi rebels, Shiite militias that act in the war in Yemen to overthrow the internationally recognized government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi, which, in turn, is defended by an international coalition under the banner of the Saudi kingdom. 

Iran is therefore seen internationally as a destabilising element that threatens regional and global security. Even more so when it approached Turkey and Qatar looking for new commercial partners after the embargo decreed by the USA. In this sense, the Gulf monarchy is also subject to sanctions due to the embargo established in 2017 by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, which accuse it of supporting cross-border terrorism. Meanwhile, the Eurasian nation is involved in the civil wars in Libya and Syria, seeking a greater position in the Mediterranean within its new expansionist policy that seeks to improve the country's geostrategic position and also to obtain economic benefits through gas and oil prospecting. 

The Iranian financial situation has also been aggravated by the economic downturn forced by the COVID-19 health crisis. Even the European Union reacted to this by supplying medical material to Iran through the INSTEX mechanism, implemented to circumvent US sanctions through transactions that avoid the use of dollars. 

The affected Natanz facility is seen as a threat by nations like the United States and Israel. This question makes one think about the possibility that the infrastructure has been attacked. 

Recently released satellite images showed that the damage to the Natanz nuclear facility was far more extensive than previously revealed, and was attributed by Iranian authorities to a fire.

Iran International, an Iranian media outlet based in London, showed through satellite images the severely damaged building which indicated that there was a large explosion.

Iranian authorities first spoke of a fire in an "industrial shed" at their Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, but American and European analysts said it appeared to be a site where advanced centrifuges, devices that spin at extreme speed to convert uranium into nuclear fuel.

This is not an isolated event. Along with the Natanz incident, there were two noteworthy industrial accidents on Saturday, which along with fires and explosions at other sites have fueled speculation that the country is being targeted by an organized sabotage campaign (some events that even left people dead). 

In this sense, there is speculation allegedly about the intervention of Israel, a country very interested in Iran not developing a military nuclear program because it is considered a possible target for attack by the Iranian side. No action has been confirmed from the Hebrew state, but it is also made clear that Israel has a clear strategy of not allowing the Persian country to have nuclear weapons. Benny Gantz, a government partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pointed out that not all incidents in Iran are related to Israel and, following recent accidents involving certain vital infrastructure, he said that "all these systems are complex and have very high security restrictions" and that he was not sure that the Iranians always know how to maintain them. Meanwhile, Gabi Ashkenazi, the Hebrew Foreign Minister, pointed out that it was better not to detail his country's actions towards Iran, as the Guardian reported, leaving the door open to all kinds of interpretations.