DUBAI, January 15. /TASS/. Experts from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran defused an explosive device on a platform where a gas centrifuge involved in uranium enrichment was supposed to be installed, the country’s Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif said, hinting that Israel could be behind the incident.
"It took the Zionists a long time to organize the operation to blow up pagers in Lebanon. Perhaps, it’s the sanctions that made this possible, as they prevent purchases directly from producers and create the need to use intermediaries. If the Zionist regime infiltrates the supply chain, it can do whatever it wants and plant whatever it chooses," he told a state Iranian broadcaster.
"For instance, the Atomic Energy Organization recently purchased a centrifuge platform, and it turned out that an explosive device had been planted inside. Experts managed to detect it. The sanctions that we have to circumvent were the reason behind the incident. In addition to financial losses, our security has also taken a hit," Zarif pointed out. The politician did not specify when the incident occurred. Centrifuges designed for uranium enrichment are usually installed at Iranian nuclear facilities.
A large number of pagers exploded almost simultaneously across Lebanon on September 17, 2024. Twelve people were killed and over 2,000 suffered injuries. Multiple walkie-talkie and cell phone explosions killed 25 people and left another 608 injured on September 18, 2024. The Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement blamed the blasts on Israel. In November 2024, a source in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed to TASS that it had been the premier that had ordered the operation.