Iran is vowing to ramp up uranium enrichment after Sunday’s blackout at its underground nuclear facility in Natanz.
On Tuesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state-run Press TV that Iran plans to increase uranium enrichment to 60% purity, its highest level ever. Araghchi added that the Middle East nation would not only replace the centrifuges that were damaged on Sunday, but also install an additional 1,000 centrifuges of a 50% higher enrichment capacity.
DEFENSE SECRETARY SAYS ATTACK ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITE WON’T DERAIL TALKS
The incident at the Natanz facility was initially described as a blackout caused by the electrical grid feeding aboveground workshops and underground enrichment halls, but Iranian officials called the explosion a “terrorist action.”
“Today’s attack demonstrates that the enemies of Iran’s progress and advancement in nuclear science, as well as nuclear negotiations, are in desperation committing terrorist actions against the nuclear technology at Natanz [nuclear facility],” Akbar Salehi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces, a branch of the Iranian military, said on Sunday, foreshadowing its planned increase in production of nuclear capabilities. “Iran reserves the right to respond against the perpetrators, and those who committed the terrorist action.”
Iran faulted “the Zionist regime [of Israel]” for the blackout. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
The United States denied involvement.
“The U.S. was not involved in any manner,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday. “We have nothing to add on speculation about the causes or the impacts.”
While some speculated about what impact the explosion would have on President Joe Biden’s efforts to reenter the the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran nuclear deal, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said negotiations would not be derailed.
“In terms of our efforts to engage Iran in diplomacy on the JCPOA, those efforts will continue,” he told members of the press from Jerusalem on Monday.
During Austin’s visit to Israel, part of a four-country European swing, the defense secretary met with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who vowed to partner with the U.S. on Iran.
“We will work closely with our American allies to ensure that any new agreement with Iran will secure the vital interests of the world and the United States, prevent a dangerous arms race in our region and protect the State of Israel,” Gantz said.
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Since the U.S. reimposed sanctions on Iran under President Donald Trump in 2018, the nation’s economy has been in a tailspin. The Middle Eastern nation has retaliated by violating the terms of the agreement and enriching uranium up to 20% purity.
Sunday’s explosion is expected to set back Natanz’s nuclear production by nine months.
