Yemen’s Ansarullah censures sabotage attack on Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran

Yemen has condemned in the strongest terms the act of sabotage against a uranium enrichment center in Iran’s central province of Isfahan, saying the Islamic Republic is entitled to respond to the “cowardly” attack.

The political bureau of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement, in a statement released on Tuesday, said Iran reserves the right to react to the sabotage act, stressing that the country is fully entitled to develop its nuclear program.

The movement slammed attempts by Israel and the US to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program and said “America — which possesses a nuclear arsenal for military purposes and has a criminal history — and its protégé, Israel, have no right to voice any concern over Iran’s nuclear program, which pursues peaceful purposes.”

The statement described Iran’s nuclear program as an “example of an independent will,” that any nation needs to have in order to make progress and break free from submissiveness to foreign dictates.

Iran on Sunday reported an act of sabotage that had caused a power failure at the country’s Natanz nuclear facility, saying the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must deal with such “nuclear terrorism” that targets Iran’s facilities from time to time.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh blamed Israel for the incident.

The act of sabotage came a day after Iran began feeding gas to cascades of new, advanced centrifuges and unveiled 133 achievements to mark its National Nuclear Technology Day and show the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

The attack also preceded a new round of talks in Vienna, Austria, between Iran and the other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal over a possible US return to the agreement.

Earlier, Yemen’s Saba News Agency cited a source at the Arab country’s Foreign Ministry as saying that Yemen stands in solidarity with Iran and supports all the measures that the Islamic Republic takes to protect its land, security and stability.

The source emphasized Iran’s right to develop peaceful nuclear technology and said such acts of sabotage threaten peace and security in the region and the whole world.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the attack and said, “The deliberate targeting of a highly sensitive safeguarded nuclear facility — with the high risk of potential release of radioactive material — constitutes reckless criminal nuclear terrorism.”

The attack, he added, “must not go unpunished. Any power with knowledge of, or acquiescence in, this act must also be held accountable as an accomplice to this war crime.”

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