TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have arrested members of a network linked to Israel who tried to sabotage a key nuclear enrichment plant, state media reported Monday.
The suspects “planned on sabotaging the Fordo facility and were arrested by the intelligence services of the Revolutionary Guards,” IRNA news agency said.
Fordo is an underground uranium enrichment facility located outside the central city of Qom, around 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Tehran.
IRNA did not specify the identity of the suspects or say how many were arrested.
But the agency said that Israeli intelligence agents tried “to approach” an employee at Fordo after “recruiting” one of his neighbors, in order to gain information about a centrifuge used at the facility.
Iran has repeatedly accused US or Israeli agents of spying on and attempting to sabotage its nuclear program, including by killing scientists.
In August 2012, saboteurs blew up power lines supplying Fordo.
Two years later, Iran said it had arrested several “spies” in Bushehr province, where the country’s sole nuclear plant is based.
In 2020, Tehran accused Israel of being responsible for the killing of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in an attack near Tehran.
The following year it claimed Israel was behind a “small explosion” that hit its Natanz uranium enrichment plant.
Monday’s allegations came on the eve of a visit to Moscow by Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian for nuclear talks.
Negotiations in Vienna to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers had lately made progress, but they were halted after Russia earlier this month demanded guarantees that Western sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine would not damage its trade with Iran.
The 2105 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
But the US unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and imposed tough economic sanctions on different sectors, including oil exports.
Iran hit back with several actions, including resuming enrichment at Fordo.
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Iran foils ‘sabotage’ at nuclear enrichment plant: state media
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Iran foils ‘sabotage’ at nuclear enrichment plant: state media
- The agency said that Israeli intelligence agents tried “to approach” an employee at Fordo after “recruiting” one of his neighbors
Senior Hamas figure among 7 killed in Israeli airstrike
- Pair of Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza's Deir Al-Balah, killing a Hamas commander
- Boy, aged 16, among the dead
CAIRO: A senior figure in the armed wing of Hamas was among seven people killed on Thursday in a pair of Israeli airstrikes in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, a Hamas source said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident. The Hamas source said one of the dead was Mohammed Al-Holy, a local commander in the group’s armed wing in Deir Al-Balah.
Hamas condemned the strikes on the Al-Holy family, in a statement that did not mention Mohammed or his role in the group. It accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal in place since October, and attempting to reignite the conflict.
Health officials said the six other dead in the incident included a 16-year-old.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire and remain far apart from each other on key issues, despite the United States announcing the start of the agreement’s second phase on Wednesday.
More than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took effect in October.
Israel has razed buildings and ordered residents out of more than half of Gaza where its troops remain. Nearly all of the territory’s more than 2 million people now live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has reasserted control.
The United Nations children’s agency said on Tuesday that over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks.
Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the strip, and left much of Gaza in ruins.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident. The Hamas source said one of the dead was Mohammed Al-Holy, a local commander in the group’s armed wing in Deir Al-Balah.
Hamas condemned the strikes on the Al-Holy family, in a statement that did not mention Mohammed or his role in the group. It accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal in place since October, and attempting to reignite the conflict.
Health officials said the six other dead in the incident included a 16-year-old.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire and remain far apart from each other on key issues, despite the United States announcing the start of the agreement’s second phase on Wednesday.
More than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took effect in October.
Israel has razed buildings and ordered residents out of more than half of Gaza where its troops remain. Nearly all of the territory’s more than 2 million people now live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has reasserted control.
The United Nations children’s agency said on Tuesday that over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks.
Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the strip, and left much of Gaza in ruins.
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