Iran names suspect in ‘sabotage’ attack on nuclear facility
17 April 2021, 12:55
State television named the suspect as 43-year-old Reza Karimi and said he had fled the country.
Iran named a suspect in the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there, saying he had fled the country before the sabotage happened.
State television named the suspect as 43-year-old Reza Karimi.
It showed a passport-style photograph of a man it identified as Mr Karimi, saying he was born in the nearby city of Kashan, Iran.
The report did not elaborate how Mr Karimi would have got access to one of the most secure facilities in the Islamic Republic.
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.
Interpol, based in Lyon, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The TV report said “necessary actions” are under way to bring him back to Iran through legal channels, without elaborating.
The supposed Interpol “red notice” listed his travel history as including Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Ethiopia, Qatar, Turkey, Uganda, Romania and another country that was illegible.
The report also showed centrifuges in a hall, as well as what appeared to be caution tape up at the Natanz facility.
The attack on Sunday, suspected to have been carried out by Israel, has inflamed a shadow war between the two nations.
Iran has begun enriching a small amount of uranium up to 60% purity, its highest level ever, in response amid talks in Vienna aimed at saving its tattered nuclear deal with world powers.
