Attack at Iranian Nuclear Site Blamed on Israel

A power outage at a nuclear facility in Iran on Monday has been categorized as “sabotage” by the Iranian government. Top Iranian nuclear official Ali Akbar Salehi is blaming Israel for what he calls a “terrorist act”. The attack happened at the underground site Natanz just a day after Iran unveiled new uranium enrichment equipment, according to Salehi.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but a number of Israeli media outlets have reported that a cyberattack orchestrated by the Israeli government is responsible for the power outage.

            Iran and Israel have had a tense relationship for many years, and if Israel is indeed responsible, it would further heighten then tensions between the two nations.

Fahed Masalkhi is a professor of Muslim and Middle East studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Born in Syria, he emigrated to the United States in 1983.

“Iran had been first rate Israeli allies before 1979,” said Masalkhi. “That changed after Iran had become a Shiri nation state.”

The Iranian revolution, which took place in 1979, overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty that had ruled Iran since 1925. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and his government were replaced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and a new Islamic republic was instated.

The nuclear power outage is just one of many attacks in Iran that officials say were carried out by Israel. According the New York Times, over the past nine months an Al Qaeda commander who was given refuge in Tehran was shot, Iran’s chief nuclear scientist was gunned down, and two separate explosions hit an Iranian nuclear facility. These attacks have been attributed to Israel by Iranian intelligence officials.

Israel has been ramping up its activity in the area over the month. Just last Thursday, a missile launched from Syria was fired into southern Israel. In response, Israel attacked a missile launcher and an air-defense system in Syria. This spark in violence is indicative of the volatility in the area.

Iranian officials and analysts also stated they found that Israel had a network of infiltrators within Iran and that the Iranian intelligence services had failed to find them. This finding, coupled with multiple attacks inside Iran has led to a heightened sense of paranoia amongst Iranian citizens. On Monday, Iranian state news reported that Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, who was deputy commander of the Quds Force, died of a heart attack. Hejazi has long been a target of Israel, and there is suspicion of foul play amongst the Iranian forces.

The attack at Natanz threatens the relationship between the United States and Iran, having taken place just days after the two nations had resumed indirect talks.

“This act of sabotage damaged not only Natanz, but also the Biden administration’s plan to return to compliance with the nuclear deal,” said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association.

The Iran Agreement, previously known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is a deal between Iran and other world powers in which Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open their doors to international inspections. In turn, Iran would receive billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief. However, in 2018, then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from that deal. After the U.S. left the deal and after deadly attacks on prominent Iranians in 2020, Iran resumed many of its previous nuclear activities. This revival of their nuclear program has dramatically escalated tensions in the region, and the conflict between Iran and Israel has not helped matters.

Professor Masalkhi was more optimistic about the situation.

“It’s not principle, it’s just politics,” said Masalkhi. “The Iranians are shrewd; they play their cards well.”