Zarif's Claim: 'Explosives Embedded' in Iran's Nuclear Equipment

Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed that Israel had embedded explosives within nuclear equipment imported to Iran, and he attributed the vulnerability of the Islamic Republic to international sanctions, which he said allowed for sabotage attributed to Israel. The deputy of 'Strategic Affairs' Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the 14th government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, alleged the discovery of explosives in centrifuge equipment that, according to him, had been imported into Iran, claiming these materials were embedded by Israel in this nuclear equipment. Zarif stated in a television program: 'Our friends bought a centrifuge platform at the Atomic Energy Organization, which had explosives embedded in it that they were able to discover.' He referred to the 'pager incidents in Lebanon,' which simultaneously exploded, injuring thousands of Hezbollah forces and killing several, stating that this was 'a multi-year process' that the Israelis 'worked on.' Pezeshkian also attributed the existence of explosives in the nuclear equipment imported to Tehran to the 'harms of sanctions,' acknowledging that Islamic Republic officials have been 'forced to rotate such purchases multiple times.' Zarif did not specify when and how the mentioned equipment was purchased while circumventing sanctions and how the explosives were found in them, but claimed these materials had been 'successfully' removed. Explosions in the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities have been reported multiple times, but the secrecy of Islamic Republic officials has kept details of some of them under wraps. In one instance, an 'ambiguous explosion' that occurred in the summer of 1400 in a 'centrifuge production workshop' in Iran drew the attention of international nuclear observers. The Islamic Republic of Iran initially claimed that it had thwarted sabotage at the Atomic Energy Organization facilities, but satellite images from the Israeli company 'Intel Lab' showed that parts of the roof of the Karaj facility had been destroyed. At that time, Bloomberg News reported, citing observers, that some of their monitoring equipment had gone missing following the explosion at the Karaj facility. With the collapse of the Islamic Republic's proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria, and the simultaneous increase in the Islamic Republic's 60% uranium reserves, concerns about the government's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons have risen. Meanwhile, speculation has arisen about the possibility of an airstrike on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities to prevent the government from acquiring nuclear weapons. To build a nuclear bomb, 25 kilograms of uranium enriched to 90% is needed. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Iranian government possesses about 840 kilograms of 20% uranium and 182 kilograms of 60% uranium. It is estimated that if the Islamic Republic decides to produce a bomb, this process could take a few days to a week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on November 19 that in a retaliatory attack on November 26 against positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in addition to part of Iran's defensive and missile capabilities, 'a special section of the nuclear program' was also targeted. However, the Israeli Prime Minister emphasized that the Islamic Republic's path to acquiring nuclear weapons has not yet been blocked. The Washington Post also reported, citing an Israeli official, that the Islamic Republic can now produce fuel for only one ballistic missile each week.