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Iran denies Israel cyberattack caused fire in nuclear facility

July 8, 2020 at 9:34 am

Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, held in Bushehr, Iran on 10 November 2019 [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency]

Spokesman of Iran’s Power Industry, Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, has denied reports that an Israeli cyberattack caused a fire in Iran’s nuclear facilityArabi21 reported yesterday.

“The reports about cyberattacks on energy stations in the country are false,” Mashhadi told a local Iranian news agency according to Arabi21.

He denied “any kind of intentional damage” on any energy stations in the country.

Mashhadi referred the reason for the fire to a rise in electricity consumption due to the hot summer weather which increased pressure on the electrical grid.

He said that the Zarqan energy station stopped operating on Saturday evening due to the damage caused by the fire, noting that the maintenance teams are repairing the damage.

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Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman on Monday accused Mossad Chief, Yossi Cohen, of leaking to the press details of Tel Aviv’s alleged attack on an Iranian nuclear facility last week.

On Thursday, Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility caught fire, no fatalities were reported but the plant suffered material damage. Rumours soon emerged that this could have been an Israeli cyberattack.