Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed in a recent interview that Israel had planted explosives in equipment purchased for Tehran’s nuclear program.
According to a translation of the interview published by Iran International on Wednesday, “Our colleagues had purchased a centrifuge platform for the Atomic Energy Organization, and it was discovered that explosives had been embedded inside it, which they managed to detect.”
The timeline of the alleged incident remains unclear, according to the outlet, which is associated with the Iranian opposition. The revelation follows a series of security incidents involving Iran’s nuclear facilities, including a power failure at the Natanz uranium enrichment site in April 2021.
According to Iran International, Zarif detailed how international sanctions have forced Iran and its allies to rely on intermediaries for equipment purchases, creating security vulnerabilities. “Instead of being able to order equipment directly from the manufacturer, sanctions force you to rely on multiple intermediaries for such purchases,” he said, according to the report.
“If the Zionist regime infiltrates even one of the intermediaries, they can do anything and embed anything they want, which is exactly what happened,” he added.
The Iranian official linked these vulnerabilities the September 2024 pager and walkie-talkie detonations that decimated the command structure of Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.
In response to the pager sabotage, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps suspended the use of communication devices and initiated inspections, according to Iran International. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization implemented a ban on electronic communication devices, including mobile phones, on commercial flights.
“These are, in fact, some of the damages caused by sanctions, which have made circumventing them a necessity for us,” said Zarif according to the report. “In addition to financial losses, there have also been significant security risks.”
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
