Iran says it has identified those responsible for the explosion at Natanz

An Iranian official said on Sunday that the police have identified the two responsible for the explosion on 2 July at the Natanz nuclear facility, according to information from the Fars news agency. "This incident was unfortunately an act of sabotage and the security agencies must study the incident thoroughly. The investigations will continue," Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, said in a statement collected by Fars. 

"As far as we know, they have identified the culprits and are aware of their incentives and methods, and in fact have full knowledge of the subject," he said. Kamalvandi said he could not yet provide further information as the matter was still under investigation. On 2 July, Iran reported an incident at the Natanz complex, but it did not cause any casualties and did not stop enrichment work at the facility.

A Middle East intelligence official, who has not revealed his name, has pointed out to The New York Times that Israel is responsible for the attack. Israel has not commented on these statements. A member of the National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament has explained that the Natanz explosion was caused by a "security breach", and a later report said that Iran had ruled out drone or missile attacks as the cause of the explosion. Iran has warned that if it finds evidence that a country was involved in the Natanz explosion, it should expect retaliation. The Natanz explosion occurred six days after an explosion near a military compound in the Parchin area southeast of Tehran shook the Iranian capital.