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Iran calls on UN to condemn “sabotage” of Karaj nuclear site blamed on Israel
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran urges the UN atomic agency to clearly condemn a “sabotage” attack on a nuclear facility west of Tehran that it has accused Israel of carrying out.
Tehran said on June 23 it had foiled the attack on the building belonging to its own nuclear agency near Karaj, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital.
At the time, he had not identified the nature of the attack, with state television saying only that “the saboteurs did not carry out their plan”.
Iran’s atomic agency chief Mohammad Eslami on Sunday said the UN watchdog and Western powers had not condemned “the terrorist act” which “severely damaged” the site.
“The last act of sabotage perpetrated by the occupation regime in Jerusalem against our country’s nuclear program was the terrorist attack on the TESA complex in Karaj,†the official IRNA news agency said today.
He reiterates Eslami’s accusation that the site has been targeted by Israel, adding that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency “must therefore clarify its position on this incident”.
The IAEA said on September 26 that it had been denied “essential” access to the TESA Karaj centrifuge component workshop, contrary to an agreement with Iran.
Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, rejected the accusation, saying it “is not accurate and goes beyond agreed terms.”
“IAEA officials in Tehran and Vienna have been informed that this center has been severely damaged, especially the cameras installed there,” Eslami said on Sunday.
“It is regrettable that neither the IAEA nor the other countries which accuse us condemn this terrorist act,” he added.
Iran has repeatedly accused Israel of sabotaging its nuclear sites and killing a number of its scientists.