Iran says it foils 'sabotage attack' on nuclear building

Iran thwarted a planned "sabotage attack" on Wednesday on a building belonging to the country's nuclear energy agency, according to state television.

There were no casualties or damage as it "foiled" the attack before it could cause "any damage to the building," the broadcaster reported.

Nournews, a website believed to have close links to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said: "On Wednesday morning, a sabotage operation against one of the [Atomic Energy Organization of Iran] buildings was foiled."

"It did not cause any damage in financial or human terms."

The case had been put "under investigation," the report said.

Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency said the building was located near Karaj city, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Tehran.

According to Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, the Karaj facility was founded in 1974 and deals with enhancing the "quality of soil, water, agricultural and livestock production using nuclear technology."

Iran points finger at Israel for previous attacks

Wednesday's attack comes after several suspected sabotage attacks targeting Iran's atomic program in recent months.

In April, Iran's Natanz nuclear facility suffered a blackout that caused damage to some of its centrifuges, an act Iran described as "nuclear terrorism."

Tehran has accused Israel of several attacks on facilities linked to its nuclear program, as well as blaming Israel for the killing a nuclear scientist last year. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed the allegations.

Last year, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for the November killing of a scientist who began the country's military nuclear program decades earlier.

All of this coincides with efforts to revive the flagging 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

jsi/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters)