TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility was hit by an explosion, Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Monday.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran dismissed reports that Sunday’s incident at Natanz facility has set back the country’s nuclear activities by 9 months, saying the damages caused by the “act of sabotage” will be repaired and the replacements will outperform by 50%.

Natanz is a hardened Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) covering 100,000 m² that is built 8 meters underground and protected by a concrete wall 2.5 m thick, itself protected by another concrete wall. It is located near Natanz, the capital city of Natanz County, Isfahan (Ispahan) Province. In July 2020, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran released photos of a building, presumed to be a centrifuge assembly facility, after a recent explosion. An unnamed Middle Eastern intelligence official later claimed that damage to the facility was caused by an explosive device.

In remarks on the sidelines of inauguration of Iran Quantum Technologies Centre on Monday, Ali Akbar Salehi said that while media reports claim that the recent incident in Natanz enrichment facility has set back Iran’s nuclear activities by 9 months, “a significant part of [what was damaged by] the enemy’s acts of sabotage will be restored and this convoy [Iran’s nuclear program] will not come to a halt.”

Describing the incident as an act of sabotage, Salehi said the Iranian security services have found clues, are dealing with the case vigorously, and will release more information at the appropriate time. He emphasized that enrichment activities in Natanz have not been suspended and are in progress strongly, although a number of the centrifuge machines that have gone off-grid have to be revised.

Salehi said while a hostile plot had damaged a modern shop for the assembly of centrifuge machines in Natanz in July 2020, the AEOI has fixed and operated that shop. “Moreover, we are building multiple advanced shops deep inside the mountains”, he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in turn, pointed to Israel’s involvement in the accident. The New York Times wrote that “American and Israeli intelligence officials said there had been an Israeli role.”

The AEOI said on Sunday that the accident happened in part of the electricity network of Ahmadi Roshan nuclear enrichment facility, but it has not resulted in any casualties or contamination.