Russian Federation hopes that the incident at the Natanz site will not affect negotiations on the nuclear deal

12 April 2021

 

Moscow hopes that the incident at the Natanz site in Iran will not undermine the consultations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) participants on the nuclear deal aimed at reanimating the agreements. This was stated in a comment by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova released on Monday.


"What is worrying is how this situation will affect multilateral efforts to restore full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to resolve the Iranian nuclear program. We hope that the incident will not become a "gift" for various opponents of the JCPOA and will not undermine the gaining momentum of consultations at the Vienna platform on the reanimation of these agreements," the diplomat stressed.


The comment noted that Russia is closely following media reports and statements by Iranian representatives regarding the situation at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant. "We are confident that its causes will be thoroughly investigated by the Iranian side. We note reports by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran that no environmental contamination occurred as a result of this event," the Russian Foreign Ministry official representative pointed out.


Zakharova stressed that the specialists managed to handle the emergency situation in a timely and professional manner. She stressed that in case the information about the malicious actions is confirmed, this intention will deserve strong condemnation.


On Sunday, the Iranian side reported that the Natanz facility reported an accident in the electricity distribution network. There were no casualties or environmental contamination. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, called the incident "a manifestation of nuclear terrorism."


The New York Times reported that the Natanz accident was the result of an explosion organized by the Israeli side. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that Israel was involved in the accident at the nuclear facility, whose goal was to disrupt negotiations on a nuclear deal.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: imago images / Xinhua / TASS

Based on materials from TASS