Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility hit by ‘suspicious’ blackout, a day after starting up advanced centrifuges
- Media reports indicate a cyberattack caused the power failure the day after Iran said it had begun mechanical tests on its newest advanced nuclear centrifuge
- Since January, Iran has been enriching uranium at up to 20 per cent purity, a step away from weapons-grade levels, though insisting it has no desire to develop a nuclear weapon
As Iranian officials investigated the outage, many Israeli media outlets offered the similar assessment that a cyberattack darkened Natanz and damaged a facility that is home to sensitive centrifuges. While the reports offered no sourcing for the evaluation, Israeli media maintains a close relationship with the country’s military and intelligence agencies.
If Israel caused the blackout, it further heightens the tensions between the two nations already engaged in a shadow conflict across the wider Middle East.
It also complicates efforts by the US, Israel’s main security partner, to re-enter the atomic accord aimed at limiting Tehran’s programme so it could not pursue a nuclear weapon if it chose. As news of the blackout emerged, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin landed in Israel on Sunday for talks with Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz.
Power at Natanz had been cut across the facility comprised of above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls, civilian nuclear programme spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told Iranian state television.