FM Writes to UN Chief Over Israeli Nuclear Terrorism

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif strongly condemned the deliberate targeting of Iran’s nuclear facilities as a “war crime”. 
Iran’s top diplomat made the statement in a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, a day after a reckless sabotage attack targeted the electricity distribution network of Shahid Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan nuclear facility in Natanz, which is a uranium enrichment center located in the city of the same name in Iran’s central province of Isfahan, IRNA reported. 
The attack, which has been blamed on Israel, caused a power outage and disrupted the operations of the sensitive nuclear facility that has been under the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguards and extensive monitoring.
Zarif said in his letter to Guterres that the timely and professional containment measures adopted by the highly dedicated management and staff of the nuclear site and the Atomic Energy of Organization averted what could have been a human and environmental catastrophe.
“The deliberate targeting of a highly sensitive safeguarded nuclear facility, with the high risk of potential release of radioactive material, constitutes reckless criminal nuclear terrorism,” Iran’s foreign minister stressed.
“Considering the possible indiscriminate human and environmental consequences of this international crime, those who planned, ordered, participated and carried out this cowardly act committed a grave war crime, which must not go unpunished. Any power with knowledge of, or acquiescence in, this act must also be held accountable as an accomplice to this war crime,” Zarif added.

Stronger Than Before 

Earlier in the day and during a session of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Zarif stressed that Natanz would be stronger than before after it was reconstructed using advanced machines and that the perpetrators are wrong to think the act of sabotage would undermine Iran’s position in nuclear negotiations.
Following the attack on Sunday, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, slammed the act of sabotage, saying the international community and the IAEA must deal with such “nuclear terrorism” that targets Iran’s facilities.
The act of sabotage came a day after Iran began feeding gas to cascades of new, advanced centrifuges at the Natanz facility and unveiled 133 achievements to mark its National Nuclear Technology Day and show the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
Four days of talks between representatives of Iran and the remaining parties to JCPOA ended in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Friday. The discussions are scheduled to resume on Wednesday.  
The two sides discussed ways of revitalizing JCPOA after former US president, Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and unleashed what his team called a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran with the stated objective of forcing the country to negotiate “a better agreement”.
The US also sent a delegation to Vienna, but Iran rejected holding direct or indirect talks with the US delegation. The European parties are acting as intermediary between the two sides.