Illustrative (AP)
“The enemy’s plot was very beautiful,” said an Iranian official. “I’m looking at it from a scientific point of view.”
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
A Sunday morning explosion at Natanz nuclear facility in Iran was caused by a remote-controlled bomb which was clandestinely smuggled into the site, an Israeli intelligence official revealed to Hebrew-language media on Monday.
The explosion brought down both the primary and backup electrical systems at the site, just a day after Iranian officials bragged about inaugurating new centrifuges at the site for advanced uranium enrichment.
Originally, Iranian officials had presented the explosion as an “accident” that caused “minor electrical issues.”
But in reality, the fire caused by the explosion was devastating for Iran’s nuclear program. According to the New York Times, the incident will set back Iranian production of the fissile material at least nine months. The explosion was so powerful that it destroyed material below some 20 feet of reinforced concrete.
The Times reported that the head of the Iranian Parliament’s atomic energy agency praised the attack’s planning and execution during a TV interview on Monday.
“The enemy’s plot was very beautiful,” said Feredyoun Abbasi. “I’m looking at it from a scientific point of view. They thought about this and used their experts and planned the explosion so both the central power and the emergency power cable would be damaged.”
The explosion comes as the U.S. and Iran resume talks aimed at re-entering the 2015 nuclear deal, from which former president Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
The UN nuclear watchdog group has reported repeated and flagrant violations of the deal from Iran’s end.
During a press conference on Monday, U.S. government officials kept mum about the attack.
“The U.S. was not involved in any manner,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during a press conference on Monday. “We have nothing to add on speculation about the causes or the impacts.”
The White House refused to say if the U.S. had received advanced notice of the attack.
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