Iran has accused the United States and Israel of striking the Natanz nuclear facility in the fourth week of a war that shows no immediate prospect of ending.
The Natanz facility is the center for uranium enrichment, a key component of Iran’s nuclear program. The desire to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat has been a stated goal of US President Donald Trump since the attack against Iran began on February 28.
“Following criminal attacks carried out by the United States and the usurping Zionist regime against our country, the Natanz enrichment complex was targeted this morning,” Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said, adding that “no leakage of radioactive materials has been reported” in the area.
The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, who was “informed by Iran” about the strike, called for “military restraint in order to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident.” Asked by AFP, the Israeli army said it was “not aware of a strike” on Natanz. Iran had previously accused the US and Israel of striking the facility in early March at the start of the war.
Western governments suspect Iran may be pursuing nuclear weapons capabilities, a claim Iranian officials strongly deny. Earlier, Israeli strikes targeted districts of Tehran and the capital’s suburbs, as well as the city of Isfahan. The Iranian capital attacks were confirmed by the Israeli military, which said it aimed at “regime targets.”
Twenty countries to help reopen Strait of Hormuz
Some twenty countries—including the United Arab Emirates, Britain, France, Canada, and Japan—announced today that they are “ready to contribute to the efforts” needed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively blocked shortly after the war in the Middle East began.
In a joint statement, these countries, mainly European, also condemned recent Iranian attacks targeting ships and oil and gas infrastructure. They called for “an immediate and global moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure.”
The other countries, signatories of the statement, according to AFP, are Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Lithuania, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and Bahrain.
Iran targets US-British base in Indian Ocean
Iran attempted to strike the US-British base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean “unsuccessfully” on Friday, an official British source told AFP.
The source said the failed attempt came before the British government announced it would allow the U.S. to utilize some of its bases to strike Iranian facilities involved in attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the base, but neither hit its target. One malfunctioned in flight, while the other was intercepted, US officials have said.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
