Tel Aviv: While Israel is getting ready to act against the Iranian nuclear program, Tehran continues to point to what it claims is an ongoing Israeli effort to undermine the program. The last such accusation – Israel planted explosives in centrifuge technology Iran bought for its nuclear program, veteran diplomat and vice president Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
According to a report in Iran international, the website operated from London by the opposition to the regime in Tehran, Iran’s vice president for strategic affairs, providing few details, said in a preview of an
online interview that sanctions on Iran and its allies deepened security challenges and made them vulnerable to Israeli booby traps.
“Our colleagues had purchased a centrifuge platform for the Atomic Energy Organisation, and it was discovered that explosives had been embedded inside it, which they managed to detect, he told the Hozour (Presence) online program. It was not clear when the alleged incident occurred. A power failure at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site in April 2021 apparently caused by an explosion was decried by Iran as an act of nuclear terrorism.
According to the website, the murky incident was neither fully explained by Iran nor claimed by Israel, which has repeatedly carried out cyberattacks and assassinations aiming at Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran says it is pursuing peaceful nuclear technology, while Israel and the United States believe Iran may ultimately seek a bomb.
Zarif detailed how sanctions compel Iran and its allies to rely on intermediaries, creating vulnerabilities that have allegedly been exploited by Israel. “Instead of being able to order equipment directly from the manufacturer, sanctions force you to rely on multiple intermediaries for such purchases, Zarif said.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
