Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced on Thursday that a fire had broken out at the Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan, but said there had been no casualties and the plant had not been damaged.
“There were no casualties or damages, and the nuclear site is operating as usual,” said IAEO spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, according to Reuters.
Since the facility itself had not been damaged, said Kamalvandi, there was no concern about possible contamination.
“There is no concern about the possibility of contamination, as one of the sheds, which was inactive and under construction, was damaged and not the facility itself,” he said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
A former Iranian nuclear official told Reuters that foul play could not be ruled out.
“Considering that this so-called incident happened just a few days after the explosion near the Parchin military base, the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out,” said the official.
A massive explosion at a military facility near Tehran that shook the Iranian capital last week was reportedly caused by a tank leak in a gas-storage facility.
“Also, the Natanz enrichment facility has been targeted in the past by a computer virus,” he said, referring to the 2010 Stuxnet virus that was reportedly created by Israel and the United States.
