In the aftermath of the inauguration of new advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment, the Natanz nuclear plant in Iran was hit by an electricity blackout. According to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, it was a “terrorist attack” for which Tehran “reserves the right to take action against the perpetrators”, without however indicating any. Western intelligence sources said it was a cyber-attack, the work of the Israeli Mossad, which caused “serious damage to the heart of the enrichment program” of Iranian uranium, a few hours after the centrifuges were inaugurated together with a new part of the facility, hit by a suspicious explosion last summer. At the time the authorities had spoken of “sabotage” by terrorists without however revealing the results of the investigations. In Israel, for the first time since February, the high-level security cabinet will meet next week, during which the recent escalation of tension with the Islamic Republic of Iran will probably be discussed.
The meeting was requested by Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. “The fight against Iran, its metastases and its paraphernalia is a big task, today’s situation will not necessarily be that of tomorrow”, commented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a toast with the leaders of the security, underlining the role of power not only “regional” but “in a certain way also global” of the Jewish state. The head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, on a visit to the Middle Eastern country, the first high-level exponent of the new US administration, reiterated Washington’s “strong and lasting” commitment to Israel and will work to maintain its “qualitative advantage military “in the region. For his part, the Israeli counterpart confirmed the close collaboration with the US, to protect the country and ensure that a new nuclear agreement with Iran does not threaten the Jewish state, “avoiding a dangerous arms race in our region”. In recent days for the first time there have been indirect talks between the US and Iran in Vienna at the meeting of the joint commission of the Jcpoa, the international nuclear agreement signed in 2015, in an attempt to try to save the agreement after the withdrawal unilateral US in 2018 by the Donald Trump administration and the subsequent disengagement of Tehran from its obligations. The new US administration has said that it is willing to re-enter the agreement but asks Tehran to once again commit itself to respecting its terms, while Iran first intends the lifting of all US sanctions.