Iranian VP claims: Israel planted explosives in our centrifuge technology

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Israel of planting explosives in centrifuge technology purchased by Iran for its nuclear program, in comments quoted by Iran International on Tuesday.

Providing limited details in a preview of an online preview, Zarif stated that sanctions on Iran and its allies have exacerbated security vulnerabilities, leaving them susceptible to Israeli interference.

“Our colleagues had purchased a centrifuge platform for the Atomic Energy Organization, and it was discovered that explosives had been embedded inside it, which they managed to detect,” Zarif shared with the Hozour (Presence) online program.

The timing of the alleged incident remains unclear.

Zarif highlighted the impact of the sanctions on Iran, explaining how they compel Iran and its allies to use intermediaries, increasing exposure to foreign tampering.

“Instead of being able to order equipment directly from the manufacturer, sanctions force you to rely on multiple intermediaries for such purchases,” Zarif said, as quoted by Iran International. “If the Zionist regime infiltrates even one of the intermediaries, they can do anything and embed anything they want, which is exactly what happened.”

He also referred to coordinated explosions in September 2024 involving Hezbollah’s communication devices, which he attributed to years of meticulous planning by Israel.

“The issue with the pagers in Lebanon turned out to be a multi-year process, meticulously orchestrated by the Zionists,” he said, referencing the detonation of about 5,000 pagers and 1,000 walkie-talkies, which resulted in 32 deaths and over 3,000 injuries.

“These are, in fact, some of the damages caused by sanctions, which have made circumventing them a necessity for us,” Zarif said. “In addition to financial losses, there have also been significant security risks.”

Zarif previously served as Iran’s Foreign Minister from 2013 to 2021 in the government of former President Hassan Rouhani.

During his time in office, Iran in 2015 signed the nuclear deal with world powers, from which Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 when he served as US President.

He is known for his statements against the US and Israel. In 2020, Zarif defended Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s use of a poster evoking Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution” to destroy Israel.

In 2021, he predicted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will go “into the dustbin of history”. He made similar comments about Donald Trump when his term as president concluded.

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