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Iran Spokesman Says 'Internal Elements' Suspected In Natanz Explosion

Government spokesman Ali Rabiei on Tuesday said Iranian security suspects domestic involvement in the July 2 explosion at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, 250 km south of Tehran, which seriously set back Iran’s uranium enrichment.

“One of the strong theories is the possibility of the involvement of internal elements in this incident,” Rabiei told reporters at a press conference in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchestan Province, on Tuesday. “The matter is being seriously investigated by security bodies and results will be announced when the matter is sufficiently clear.” Several intelligence agencies were involved, Rabiei added, due to the “complex nature” of the case.

This is the first time an Iranian official has alluded to domestic involvement as likely in an explosion widely attributed to Israel. On Sunday, commenting on possible foreign responsibility, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh referred cryptically to Iran sending “messages through “certain channels.”

Days after the incident the New York Times quoted a Revolutionary Guards source saying the blast had been caused by a bomb and that Israel had been involved. Israeli officials have made no comment.

The Jerusalem Post on September 17 confirmed the Times story. “The purpose of the attack was to send an unambiguous deterrent message that progress toward a nuclear weapon beyond certain red lines would not be tolerated,” the Israeli newspaper wrote. The Post said it had confirmed reports that the explosion had been caused by physical sabotage rather than purely through cyberwarfare.

Officials of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) at first downplayed the explosion and subsequent fire, claiming there was damage only to an “industrial shed” that was under construction. The AEOI had also minimized an explosion six days earlier, at the Parchin military complex east of Tehran, as the result of a leaking gas tank, but subsequently admitted there had been “sabotage.”

Based on an analysis of satellite images, the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security estimated that the Natanz explosion destroyed nearly three-quarters of the main centrifuge assembly hall, and sparked a fire that blackened most of the building and blew off the roof.

AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi on July 6 said Iranian investigators knew the cause of the explosion but that he would not discuss the incident further  given security implications. Kamalvandi did, however, confirm that equipment was no longer usable and that work could be delayed for some time.

This was the second known attack on the Natanz nuclear facility. The 2010 sabotage of its high-speed centrifuges through the Stuxnet computer worm encouraged speculation that July’s explosion also resulted from cyber-activity.

A previously unknown group calling itself ‘Homeland Panthers’ claimed responsibility for the explosion with an email to BBC Persian TV shortly after the incident. The mystery group has not issued any subsequent statements.

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