Iran admitted Sunday that its Natanz nuclear facility had incurred “significant” damage from a fire that broke out at the site last week.
Satellite pictures showed widespread devastation at Natanz, which is Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility. Analysts said the fire had likely destroyed an aboveground lab being used to prepare advanced centrifuges before they were installed underground.
A spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation has said that the cause of the blaze at the site had been determined, and that the destroyed machinery would be replaced by more advanced equipment.
Iranian officials said they are withholding the information for national security reasons. Some officials have blamed possible cyber-sabotage.
The International Atomic Energy Agency earlier said that Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium and remains in violation of its 2015 deal with world powers.
The deal saw Iran agree only to produce low-enriched uranium, which has a 3-4% concentration of U-235 and can be used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants. Weapons-grade uranium is 90% enriched or more.
