An Israeli television report claims the Natanz blast was sparked by a bomb, which went off at the Iranian nuclear facility at 4 a.m. and had been placed there ahead of time.
Channel 13’s defense analyst Alon Ben-David, who did not cite sources, says 1,000 workers were in Natanz at the time of the explosion, which has been blamed on Israel. They were evacuated over fears of additional bombs.
The bomb was placed near the main electricity line, the network says. It says Natanz has been fully shut down, with the program set back by months.
In this photo released on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019 by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the organization, speaks with media while visiting the Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)
Israel expects Iran to retaliate for the attack, but not necessarily right away, according to Channel 13. Such a retaliation could come in the form of a cyberattack on civilian infrastructure, attack on Israeli-owned ships, missile fire from Syria or Yemen, or cruise missile or drone attacks on strategic Israeli targets.
Channel 13 also says Iran could try to expand its centrifuge operation at the Fordo plant, where it has 1,000 centrifuges. There were almost 6,000 centrifuges at Natanz.
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