Iran confirms damaged Natanz nuclear site was centrifuge facility

Iran has confirmed that a damaged building at the underground Natanz nuclear site was a new centrifuge assembly centre, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian officials had previously sought to downplay the fire, which erupted early on Thursday, calling it only an incident that affected an industrial shed. However, a released photo and video of the site broadcast by Iranian state television showed a two-story brick building with scorch marks and its roof apparently destroyed.

A spokesman for Iran's nuclear agency, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said Sunday that work had begun on the centre in 2013 and it was inaugurated in 2018. More advanced centrifuge machines were intended to be built there," he said, adding that the damage would possibly cause a delay in the development and production of advanced centrifuge machines in the medium term.