Iran accused Israel on Monday of a frustrated sabotage attempt against one of its most important nuclear plants, while Negotiations to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal are on hold.
The Revolutionary Guard announced that it has thwarted a sabotage attempt against the Fordow nuclear underground plant, located south of Tehran, before it was carried out, Iranian state television reported.
An employee who worked in Fordow’s IR-6 type centrifuge section was going to sabotage the plant, according to the Revolutionary Guard quoted by state media.
If there is no progress soon, the nuclear agreement with Iran cannot be saved, according to the United States
That employee along with “a network recruited by the Zionist regime” were arrested before carrying out the sabotage, planned for before the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, which falls on the 21st of this month.
The Iranian authorities did not offer more details of the sabotage attempt, or when it happened or the people involved in it.
Various Iranian accusations
Iran and Israel are engaged in a covert war that includes cyberattacks, alleged assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and ship sabotage, although neither country publicly acknowledges its actions.
Thus, Tehran has accused on numerous occasions in the past Tel Aviv to sabotage its atomic facilities and to assassinate nuclear scientists on its territory.
In one of the most recent cases the Natanz uranium enrichment plant in central Iran suffered a blackout that damaged hundreds of centrifuges and was described by Tehran as “nuclear terrorism” in April last year.
Iran responded to that attack by announcing that it would begin enriching uranium to a purity of 60%, well above the 3.67% allowed in the 2015 nuclear deal.
The announcement of the sabotage attempt comes after yesterday the Revolutionary Guard announced the launch of missiles against a supposed center of the Israeli foreign intelligence service in Erbilonce the United States announced that its consulate and the airport in that town had been attacked.
There were no casualties in it, according to US authorities.
Tehran claimed that the attack was carried out “following the recent crimes of the Zionist regime,” referring to the death of two members of this military force near Damascus, an action that Iran blamed on Israel.
In addition, Iran today warned its neighbor Iraq not to harbor “Zionists” on its territory who pose a threat to Iranian national security.
nuclear negotiations
Iran is engaged in negotiations with Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and China, with the indirect participation of the United States, to salvage the 2015 pact.
After 11 months of tough negotiations, everything seemed to indicate that the agreement limiting the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions had been closed.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov requested written guarantees nine days ago that trade and military relations with Tehran will not be affected by the sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
These demands have caused the temporary suspension of the negotiations, as announced by the high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
Thus, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdolahian, will meet with Lavrov tomorrow in Moscow to discuss the situation.
Until now, Iran continues to blame the United States – which left the pact in 2018 – for not closing the agreement due to “lack of political decisions” in Washington.
Israel opposed the pact in 2015 and now he is again against a new nuclear deal with Iran. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
