Iran has refused to state the cause of the fire which damaged a centrifuge assembly plant at Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear site, with the excuse of maintaining security.
An online video and messages have however purportedly claimed responsibility for the fire. Nevertheless, Iranian officials has decided not to confirm nor deny the claims.
The multiple, different claims by a self-described group called the “Cheetahs of the Homeland” included language used by several exiled Iranian opposition organizations. They also focused almost entirely on Iran’s nuclear program, viewed by Israel as a danger to its very existence.
The disparate messages, as well as the fact that Iran experts have never heard of the group before, raised questions about whether Natanz again had faced sabotage by a foreign nation as it had during the Stuxnet computer virus outbreak believed to have been engineered by the U.S. and Israel.
Tehran’s reaction so far shows Iranian officials are increasingly taking the possibility seriously.
Gen. Gholam Reza Jalali, the head of Iran’s military unit in charge of combating sabotage, warned that “If it is proven that our country has been attacked by cyberattacks, we will respond.”
Iranian officials have sought to downplay the fire, which erupted early on Thursday, calling it only an “incident” that affected an “industrial shed.”
However, a released photo and video of the site broadcast by Iranian state television showed a two-story brick building with scorch marks and its roof apparently destroyed. Debris on the ground and a door that looked blown off its hinges suggested an explosion accompanied the blaze.
Iranian nuclear officials did not respond to any equest for comment from analysts. However, a local news agency quoted the spokesman of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council as saying authorities know the cause of the fire.
“Due to some security considerations, the cause and manner of the accident will be announced at the appropriate time,” Keyvan Khosravi reportedly said on Friday, without elaborating.
