Iran, nuclear activities 'slowed down' by fire in Natanz

(ANSA) - ROME, JULY 06 - Iran has admitted today that a fire that broke out this week at its nuclear site in Natanz, the most important for the production of enriched uranium, has caused damage that could "slow down" the atomic program of the Islamic Republic. "However - said the Iranian Organization for Nuclear Energy spokesman, Behruz Kamalvandi, quoted by Tehran television - God willing we will remedy this delay thanks to a 24-hour job".
    According to Kamalvandi, the fire hit a "shed" where precision instruments were in storage. But according to western analysts it would be an installation where centrifuges were assembled for the enrichment of advanced model uranium.
    The Iranian Supreme National Security Council said that it had ascertained the cause of the incident, but did not want to reveal it for now for "security" reasons. In Iran and abroad, however, rumors are growing that the fire may have been caused, like other incidents in the past few weeks, by cyberattacks carried out by a foreign power, perhaps Israel. The Jewish state has not confirmed or denied.
    "We do actions that are best left unsaid," Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said today. The minister then recalled that Israel "has a long-term policy, during various administrations, not to allow Iran to have nuclear capabilities". (HANDLE).