TEHRAN: Iran’s nuclear body yesterday said an accident had taken place at a construction site in a nuclear complex without causing casualties, state news agency Irna reported.
“An accident occurred on Thursday morning and damaged a warehouse under construction in open space at the Natanz site” in central Iran, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the country’s Atomic Energy Organisation.
Kamalvandi was further quoted as saying that the complex is currently inactive and there is no risk of radioactive pollution.
The accident did not result in casualties, he added, noting that the cause was under investigation.
He did not give any details on the nature of the reported accident.
Responsibility
The BBC’s Persian service, which Iranian authorities consider hostile, said it received a statement “hours before” the accident from a group called the “Homeland Cheetahs” who claimed responsibility for the accident.
They claimed to be “dissidents present in Iran’s security apparatuses” and said the location was targeted as it was not “underground” and therefore the alleged attack could not be denied.
The governor of Natanz city, Ramazanali Ferdosi, said the incident caused a fire but he gave no details about the cause, Tasnim news agency reported.
Some experts did not rule out the possibility of sabotage given the importance of the Natanz nuclear site.
“Considering that this so-called incident happened just a few days after the explosion near the Parchin military base, the possibility of a sabotage cannot be ruled out,” a former Iranian nuclear official said.
Iran’s nuclear body has yet to provide an explanation for the cause of the accident.
Tehran announced in May last year that it was suspending certain commitments under a multilateral nuclear deal unilaterally abandoned by the US in 2018.
The 2015 accord promised Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limiting its nuclear programme.
US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the deal was followed by Washington reimposing biting unilateral sanctions.
The Natanz facility is one of Iran’s main uranium enrichment plants.