Iran’s Vice President for Strategic Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, revealed that a sabotage attempt targeting the country's uranium enrichment program had been thwarted.
The plot involved a rigged component meant for the country’s centrifuges, which was acquired through intermediaries assisting Iran in evading sanctions.
In a televised interview streamed exclusively online, Zarif cautioned that Iran is facing growing security challenges in acquiring spare parts due to US sanctions.
“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," he told the Hozour (Presence) online program.
It was not clear when the alleged incident occurred.
On September 17, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously in Beirut’s southern suburbs and its other strongholds. Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was among the injured.
The attack, followed by a second bombing the next day targeting walkie-talkies, killed 39 people and injured over 3,400.
“The issue with the pagers in Lebanon turned out to be a multi-year process, meticulously orchestrated by the Zionists (Israelis),” said Zarif.
Following the pager explosions, Iranian officials and lawmakers warned of potential Israeli infiltrations similar to the attacks. As a precaution, the communication devices used by Iranian officials underwent security reviews.
This is not the first time Iran has raised concerns over potential infiltration through spare parts. In late August 2023, Iranian state television reported the thwarting of an Israeli "plot" to sabotage its ballistic missile and drone programs using faulty spare parts acquired from a foreign supplier.
Authorities stated the parts could have caused explosions or malfunctions in Iranian missiles before launch.
The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was accused of orchestrating the shipment of defective parts and electronic chips used in missiles and drones.
A defense ministry official confirmed that a “network of agents” had attempted to introduce the rigged components.
In April 2021, an explosion at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility, which housed hundreds of centrifuges, was blamed on Israel’s Mossad.
Alireza Zakani, then a member of parliament and now Tehran's mayor, said the blast was caused by “300 pounds of explosives planted in equipment sent abroad for repairs.”
The explosion destroyed the electrical distribution system 50 meters underground.
