Iran hard-liners call for end to Vienna talks after attack on nuclear facility
The second attack on a nuclear facility in five months has prompted calls for Iran to quit talks on reviving the nuclear deal.
After another attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, hard-liners in Iran have called for ending the negotiations in Vienna on the United States' reentry to the 2015 nuclear deal.
Over the weekend, a suspected Israeli attack caused a power outage in the nuclear facility located in Esfahan province. The site has been attacked previously, years before the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, in a sophisticated cyber attack carried out by European countries, the United States and Israel. The site was also attacked in 2020, an explosion also reportedly caused by Israel prompted Iran to begin underground work at the center.
The second attack in a short few months, while Iran is busy negotiating with the remaining parties of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to discuss the terms of a US reentry and Iran’s compliance, has upset opponents of President Hassan Rouhani.
Tasnim News Agency reported, “Mr. Rouhani, quit the negotiations under the shadow of assassinations.” The article read, “The US expresses its good intentions in the negotiations but is a partner with the Zionists in terrorists actions. Therefore the wisest and perhaps the least that could be done is quitting the negotiations taking place in Vienna.”
