Iran releases name of suspect in Natanz attack, says he 'fled' country before incident

Days after blaming the Zionist regime of “nuclear terrorism”, Iran has finally named a suspect responsible for the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility. On April 17, Iranian state television IRIB held 43-year-old Reza Karimi as a prime suspect for the sabotage attack adding that he fled the country “hours before the sabotage happened.” Throughout the day, the broadcaster flashed a passport styled photograph of the man revealing that he was born in the city of Kashan.

Interpol's red notice 

The report also aired what appeared to be an Interpol “red notice” seeking his arrest. The arrest notice was not immediately accessible on Interpol’s public-facing database, neither did Interpol issue any comment on the report. However, the TV report asserted that “necessary actions” were underway to extradite a fugitive Karimi. It also highlighted Karimi’s foreign travel history, which included countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, the Netherlands, Qatar, Romania, Turkey, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates, as per the supposed Interpol “red notice."

Amid ongoing talks with Washington to revive the 2015 JCPOA pact, Tehran commenced advanced centrifuges at Natanz underground atomic facility earlier this week. However, a prolonged power cut at the facility damaged centrifuges, promoting Rouhani to term the incident as “nuclear terrorism.” On Wednesday, the Shiite leader vowed 60 per cent uranium enrichment in retaliation.

Meanwhile, in a televised address, Rouhani asserted that it was a "mistake" for Europe and the United States to express concerns that the move "means we can enrich to 90 per cent in one go". "Today, we can enrich to 90 per cent if we want to. But we have declared it from day one and we're keeping our word: our nuclear activities are peaceful; we are not seeking to obtain the atomic bomb," he said.

The US along with other western powers have warned that with heightened enrichment, Iran could be aiming to produce nuclear weapons. However, the Islamic Republic has blatantly denied such an ambition highlighting that 60 per cent enriched uranium could be used for its nuclear power ships. However, Times of Israel reported that the country owned no such ships at present.  

(Inputs and Image: The Associated Press)