Iran threatens retaliation after what it calls possible cyberattack on nuclear site
الجمعة 03 يوليو-تموز 2020 الساعة 10 مساءً / Yemeni Media Center
عدد القراءات (174)

 Iran will retaliate against any country that carries out cyberattacks on its nuclear sites, the head of civilian defense said, after a fire at its Natanz plant which some Iranian officials said may have been caused by cyber sabotage.

The underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) is one of several Iranian facilities monitored by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.

Iran’s top security body said on Friday that the cause of the “incident” at the nuclear site had been determined, but “due to security considerations” it would be announced at a convenient time.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) initially reported an “incident” had occurred early on Thursday at Natanz, located in the desert in the central province of Isfahan.

It later published a photo of a one-story brick building with its roof and walls partly burned. A door hanging off its hinges in the photo suggested that there had been an explosion inside the building.

“Responding to cyberattacks is part of the country’s defense might. If it is proven that our country has been targeted by a cyberattack, we will respond,” civil defense chief Gholamreza Jalali told state TV late on Thursday.

An article issued on Thursday by state news agency IRNA addressed what it called the possibility of sabotage by enemies such as Israel and the United States, although it stopped short of accusing either directly.

“So far Iran has tried to prevent intensifying crises and the formation of unpredictable conditions and situations,” IRNA said. “But the crossing of red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran by hostile countries, especially the Zionist regime and the US, means that strategy...should be revised.”

Suspicions

Three Iranian officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said they believed the fire was the result of a cyberattack, but did not cite any evidence.

One of the officials said the attack had targeted the centrifuge assembly building, referring to the delicate cylindrical machines that enrich uranium, and said Iran’s enemies had carried out similar acts in the past.

Two of the officials said Israel could have been behind the Natanz incident, but offered no evidence.

Asked on Thursday evening about recent incidents reported at strategic Iranian sites, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters: “Clearly we can’t get into that.”

The Israeli military and Netanyahu’s office, which oversees Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad, did not immediately respond to Reuters queries on Friday.

In 2010, Stuxnet computer virus, which is widely believed to have been developed by the United States and Israel, was discovered after it was used to attack Natanz facility.

Natanz was built in secret without the IAEA’s knowledge but was exposed by an Iranian opposition group in 2002. Iran acknowledged the sites existence in 2003.

The underground Natanz site remains the centerpiece of Iran’s enrichment program, though Tehran denies ever seeking nuclear weapons, saying its atomic program is only for peaceful purposes.

Iran curbed its nuclear work in exchange for the removal of most global sanctions under an accord reached with six world powers in 2015, but has reduced compliance with the deal’s restrictions since the United States withdrew in 2018.

-Reuters


تعليقات:
    قيامك بالتسجيل وحجز اسم مستعار لك سيمكنكم من التالي:
  • الاحتفاظ بشخصيتكم الاعتبارية أو الحقيقية.
  • منع الآخرين من انتحال شخصيتك في داخل الموقع
  • إمكانية إضافة تعليقات طويلة تصل إلى 1,600 حرف
  • إضافة صورتك الشخصية أو التعبيرية
  • إضافة توقيعك الخاص على جميع مشاركاتك
  • العديد من الخصائص والتفضيلات
للتسجيل وحجز الاسم
إضغط هنا
للدخول إلى حسابك
إضغط هنا
الإخوة / متصفحي موقع المركز اليمني للإعلام نحيطكم علماُ ان
  • اي تعليق يحتوي تجريح او إساءة إلى شخص او يدعو إلى الطائفية لن يتم نشره
  • أي تعليق يتجاوز 800 حرف سوف لن يتم إعتماده
  • يجب أن تكتب تعليقك خلال أقل من 60 دقيقة من الآن، مالم فلن يتم إعتماده.
اضف تعليقك
اسمك (مطلوب)
عنوان التعليق
المدينة
بريدك الإلكتروني
اضف تعليقك (مطلوب) الأحرف المتاحة: 800
التعليقات المنشورة في الموقع تعبر عن رأي كاتبها ولا تعبر عن رأي الموقع   
مواضيع مرتبطة
اندلاع احتجاجات وأعمال عنف في إثيوبيا
الاتحاد الأوروبي يتعهد بتقديم 2.3 مليار يورو لدعم سوريا
وفيات كورونا ترتفع في الولايات المتحدة وبريطانيا
مجلس الأمن الدولي يبحث مفاوضات سد النهضة الإثيوبي
السودان "يشترط" توقيع اتفاق قبل ملء سد النهضة