On Saturday morning, Iranian state radio showed pictures of a 43-year-old man, whom the authorities claim is behind the sabotage at the Natanz facility.
The plant, which is being used to enrich uranium, suffered an explosion on Sunday, causing the disappearance of energy and the destruction of an unknown number of nuclear centrifuges.
The first reports were that the factory had had an accident. Later in the day, he described the explosion as sabotage and horror.
The day before, the plant used new equipment to enrich uranium.
Internationally required
The man now wanted in connection with the explosion is a 43-year-old Iranian man from Kashan, near Natanz.
According to the Iranian authorities, he left Iran the day before Sunday, hours before the explosion.
Soon, Iran got out and accused Israel of participating in the sabotage operation.
to The New York Times Israeli and American sources claimed that the operation was all Israeli. According to Israel Radio, the Mossad, the state intelligence, played a major role in the attack. The same was reported by Iranian intelligence sources, according to the Iranian newspaper Tehran Times.
In the TV profiles of the State Broadcasting Corporation, no information was provided about how the man got to the nuclear power plant in Natanz, which is very well secured.
The 43-year-old is said to be wanted through international police cooperation, Interpol, and a photo with parts of the search warrant was shown on Iranian television.
– It is said that necessary measures have been taken to arrest and return him to the country.
The 43-year-old’s travel history will include Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, the Netherlands and Romania.
News agencies have not succeeded in confirming the search warrant issued by INTERPOL.
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Meetings in the basement of a luxury hotel
The measure against Natanz casts a shadow over the ongoing talks in Vienna between representatives from the European Union, the United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran.
The talks aim to salvage the nuclear deal entered into in 2015.
The USA is not currently represented at the Vienna meeting table, which is held on the ground floor of the luxurious Grand Hotel Wien in the Austrian capital.
Former US President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the nuclear deal in 2018, thus Iran refuses to negotiate face to face with US diplomats.
Instead, the American delegation stayed at a hotel across the road, and an EU representative ran to and fro with the letters.
Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Wang Kun speaks to the press outside the Grand Vienna Hotel, where talks are being held on the nuclear deal with Iran.
Photo: Florian Schroetter / AP
Work in progress
Iran announced on Friday that it had started enriching uranium with a purity of 60 percent in response to the sabotage operation. 60 percent is three times higher than known, although it’s supposed to be in small amounts.
In addition, Iranian television showed pictures of several centrifuges at Natanz, which replaced those destroyed during the explosion. It is also reported that a very large number of the remaining centrifuges are back in operation.
Reuters quoted the Chinese representative in Vienna as saying that negotiations are continuing despite news of enrichment yesterday.
The Chinese diplomat, the only member of the group who speaks regularly to the press, describes the work as constructive and successful.
He adds that it is hoped that in the next few days they will discuss the details of the sanctions that should be lifted against Iran and what Iran must do to work according to the agreement.
The Iranian leadership calls for the lifting of all sanctions imposed during the Trump era.
Follow the development at the NRK News Center:
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