The White House said the United States was not involved in an attack on an Iranian nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges.
Tehran has blamed Israel for the attack on its underground Natanz enrichment site, which officials said triggered a “possible minor explosion.”
The attack comes at a crucial time, with signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal due to resume talks in Vienna this week.
President Joe Biden’s press secretary denied any U.S. involvement.
“The U.S. was not involved in any manner,” she said. “We have nothing to add on speculation about the causes or the impacts.”
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Israel has a history of conducting covert operations on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Natanz itself has fallen victim to sabotage. In 2010, its centrifuges were knocked out by the Stuxnet computer virus, thought to be the creation of American and Israeli experts.
The latest incident was initially described by Iranian officials as a power outage. They later began calling it an “attack.”
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose arrival coincided with the developments.
“My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel,” he said. “And Israel will continue to defend itself against Iran’s aggression and terrorism.”
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Intelligence analysts have said Israel would be unlikely to act against Iran without the tacit support of Washington.
