Suspicious: Explosion hits central Iranian power plant only a few weeks after Natanz nuclear site blast

Oleg Burunov.
Sputnik
Sun, 19 Jul 2020 17:10 UTC

© AP Photo / Atomic Energy Organization of Iran

The blast occurred a few weeks after an explosion ripped through Iran's Natanz facility for enriching uranium, in an incident that was reportedly caused by a bomb.

An explosion took place at a power plant in Iran's central Isfahan Province on Sunday, the country's IRNA news agency reports.

The news outlet cited Saeid Mohseni, chief executive of Isfahan Power Generation Co., as saying that the blast did not disrupt the plant's electricity supply to customers.

"The damaged equipment is being repaired", he said, adding that the power station resumed operations about two hours after the explosion.

The incident reportedly took place due to a technical problem at the plant and did not cause any casualties.

Natanz Explosion

This came after a blast occurred at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran in early July, with the country's Atomic Energy Organisation stating at the time that the facility "is operating as usual", since the reactor was not damaged in the explosion and there were no casualties following the incident.

© Reuters

A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of a building damaged by fire at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran

Tehran pledhed to announce "the main cause" of the explosion "at a proper time", warning that if it finds out "foreign elements" were behind the incident, they will face consequences.

Earlier, The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed Middle East intelligence official, that the Natanz blast was caused by an "explosive device planted inside the facility". The report was followed by the Kuwaiti daily al-Jarida citing an unnamed "senior" source as saying that the explosion was Israel's work.

The Natanz plant remains the Islamic Republic's primary uranium processing facility, where Tehran reportedly installed new cascades of advanced centrifuges in November 2019 in retaliation for Washington's earlier unilateral exit from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The incident followed an explosion ripping through the Parchin military complex located about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Iranian capital Tehran late last month, in what Iranian authorities said was the result of "leaking gas tanks".

Comment: Other incidents have followed on including a fire at a manufacturing plant and an explosion along a pipeline:

A factory located close to the town of Sheikh Hassan, in Northwestern Iran has caught fire, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA).

Firefighters from the Iranian cities of Khosrowshah and Sardrud promptly arrived on the scene of the major blaze at a cellophane printing company situated southwest of Tabriz, ILNA reported. No casualties have been reported so far. The cause of the fire remains unknown.