Cause of Accident at Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Site Discovered

The spokesperson for the Supreme National Security Council of Iran says expert teams have determined the cause of a recent accident at Natanz nuclear facility in the central province of Isfahan.

Photo of the shed in Natanz nuclear facility which caught fire early Thursday / Source: Atomic Energy Organization of Iran

Keivan Khosravi announced on Friday that technical and security investigation conducted by the relevant organizations has exactly discovered the cause of the accident that occurred at ‘Ahmadi Roshan’ nuclear site in Natanz on July 2.

Experts from various sectors in charge of assessing and investigating the incident were present at the site of the accident immediately after it happened on Thursday morning, he added, noting, “Various hypotheses about the cause of the incident were tested with a detailed assessment of the impacts, quality and extent of the damages that have been done, and the main cause of the accident has been identified.”

Khosravi said more details on why and how the accident occurred will be made public at the appropriate time “due to security considerations.”

The spokesman finally emphasized that the damages to an industrial shed under construction in Natanz nuclear facility has been “limited”.

“There have been no nuclear materials at the site of the incident, and the issue of leak of radioactive materials in the wake of the incident is categorically dismissed,” he noted.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Thursday that an open-air warehouse under construction at Natanz nuclear facility has been damaged in the accident, but no casualties have been reported.

AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said the accident had no casualties and did not disrupt running operations at the facility.

He also noted that there is no cause for concern over possible contamination as the warehouse was not operational.

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