Iran Announces Thwarting Attack on ‘Sensitive’ Center in Isfahan

The Natanz nuclear facilities in Isfahan were targeted by two major sabotage attacks in 2020 and 2021 (Reuters)
The Natanz nuclear facilities in Isfahan were targeted by two major sabotage attacks in 2020 and 2021 (Reuters)
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Iran Announces Thwarting Attack on ‘Sensitive’ Center in Isfahan

The Natanz nuclear facilities in Isfahan were targeted by two major sabotage attacks in 2020 and 2021 (Reuters)
The Natanz nuclear facilities in Isfahan were targeted by two major sabotage attacks in 2020 and 2021 (Reuters)

An arrested Israeli spy network had plans to explode one of the “sensitive” centers in Iran's central Isfahan province, revealed Iran’s Supreme National Security Council a few hours after a similar statement by the cleric-led country’s Intelligence Ministry.

In a short statement on Saturday night, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said that it had arrested elements of a spy network that entered Iran months ago under the guidance of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, through the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The spies allegedly identified one of the country’s “sensitive” centers in Isfahan province with plans to destroy it.

“This network's members were in contact with (Israel's) Mossad spy agency through a neighboring country and entered Iran from (Iraq's) Kurdistan region with advanced equipment and strong explosives,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state media.

“Members of the network employed cutting edge operational and communications equipment and powerful explosives and wanted to conduct an unprecedented sabotage and terrorist operation in some pre-determined sensitive areas and targets,” it added.

The ministry did not give further details.

On Sunday, Nournews, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the arrested group was on its way to blow up an unspecified “sensitive center” in Isfahan, which among other things houses the country’s main nuclear facilities.

The Natanz nuclear facilities in Isfahan were targeted by two major sabotage attacks in 2020 and 2021.

“The blow to this network was realized as a result of one of the most complicated operations of Iran’s intelligence apparatus inside or outside the country,” the outlet said.

According to Nournews, the group had trained in an unnamed African country for months, where its members simulated the operation.

They had already planted high-impact explosives and were only hours away from carrying out the final operation when they were arrested, it said.

The intelligence ministry’s announcement came two days after the London-based ‘Iran International’ released an exclusive report.

The July 21 report said that Israel’s Mossad had captured a senior Revolutionary Guard official on Iranian soil and interrogated him about weapons shipments to Iran’s proxies in the region. After the interrogation the man was released.

Iran International had obtained video of the interrogation showing a man introducing himself as Yadollah Khedmati, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) Logistics, says he regrets his involvement in shipping weapons to Iran’s proxy groups in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen and urges other IRGC officials to avoid engagement in such activities.

Iranian government media on Saturday confirmed the report, saying that criminal elements had indeed detained the IRGC officer.

Since mid-2020 a series of high-profile mysterious attacks hit Iran’s nuclear and military installations around the country, widely believed to have been Israeli sabotage operations.

In November 2020, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a key figure in Iran’s controversial nuclear program was assassinated in a complex operation on the outskirts of Tehran.

In May, several IRGC officials were killed or died in suspicious circumstances, prompting Tehran to blame Israel, which has never officially taken credit for these operations.



Zelenskiy Says Alaska Summit Should Open Path to Ukraine-Russia-US Talks

 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy walks to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy walks to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Zelenskiy Says Alaska Summit Should Open Path to Ukraine-Russia-US Talks

 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy walks to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy walks to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was important that Friday's Russia-US summit in Alaska opened up a path towards a "just peace", as well as substantive three-way talks between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the United States.

"It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were due to meet at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska on Friday to discuss a ceasefire deal for Ukraine that the US sees as a possible way to end the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two.

Trump said he would not negotiate on behalf of Ukraine in the meeting and would let Kyiv decide whether to engage in territorial swaps with Russia.

"Indeed, high stakes. The key thing is that this meeting should open up a real path towards a just peace and a substantive discussion between leaders in a trilateral format – Ukraine, the United States, and the Russian side," Zelenskiy said.

This week, Zelenskiy held a meeting with European leaders, and on Friday agreed with the French president to meet after the US-Russia summit.