Natanz Complex Not Affected by Incident , Enrichment Continues

IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Thursday that there were no casualties in Shahid Ahmadi Rowshan Natanz Complex as a result of the incident occurred this morning, and the normal process of enrichment continues far from the site of the incident.

He further noted that on Thursday, around 2:00 o’clock, an incident occurred, as a result of which material damage was caused but, thanks God, there were no casualties.

There has been no nuclear material at the site, so there has been no pollution, contrary to the propaganda and rumors of the dissident and counterrevolutionary media that speak of pollution, he said.

Noting that production of enrichment materials at this important site continues unabated, he said that the experts are investigating to determine the cause of the accident and extent of damages.

“We have started enrichment since Iran’s move to scale down commitments, and currently we have no commitment both in terms of the level of and amount of enrichment, and we are now producing materials over 3.67 percent and above 300 kilograms,” he said.

Kamalvandi said the incident in Natanz nuclear site did not affect its centrifuge operation or cause any release of radiation.

Pre-fabricated steel framework of Natanz out-door site has broken, he added.

Some rumors have been spread by the opposition media claiming spread of pollution, which is not true at all, Kamalvandi added.

Expert teams from the AEOI have been deployed to investigate the factors leading to the damage of the pre-fabricated steel framework, he added.

Ali Akbar Salehi, Head of Iran Atomic Energy Organization, was also present in the site, the spokesman said, adding the AEOI experts are investigating the issue.

The enrichment site has not interrupted performance, and the site continues to do so, he said.

A fire broke out early Thursday at a building above Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. Officials said it did not affect its centrifuge operation or cause any release of radiation.

Meanwhile Head of Iran’s Passive Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali yesterday said that very limited cyberattacks waged against facilities of the country since the start of the current Iranian year (March 20).

Security is never absolute and there are always ways to penetrate it, he said, adding, “modern and up-to-date technologies, in addition to rendering quality services to people, are threatening due to their advanced and intelligent cyber elements.”

Turning to this point that new technologies are a combination of threats and opportunities, he stated, “for instance, social networks are one of the essential functions of people and everyone uses them but social networks, that are dominated by foreign countries, are used to control people of other countries, create chaos and disrupt the order of countries.”

In general, social networks, which are controlled and dominated by foreign countries, are used for security and economic attacks, Brigadier General Jalali added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said, “we use nuclear technology for medical diagnosis and treatment but ignoring the safety issues of this technology can be harmful.”

Safety and security considerations are usually divided into three layers, he said, adding, “the first layer is safety while the other layer is security. The third is war and defense layer, in which, enemy and threat are raised.”