A drone targeted a factory associated with the country's nuclear program in an attack west of Tehran, media outlets aligned with opponents of the ayatollah regime reported, Wednesday.
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According to the report, the facility in Karaj City belonged to the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company, also known as TESA, which produces blades for uranium enrichment hubs. While reports noted the facility was damaged in the attack, no information was provided as to the extent of the damage.
The New York Times reported an Iranian official with knowledge of the matter as saying the drone was launched from within the country, near the facility. The report noted the Karaj City facility is one of the central sites where Iran carries out vital operations for the manufacturing of centrifuges.
According to The New York Times report, the facility was on a list of possible targets Israel presented to the administration of former US President Donald Trump in early 2020.
The official said that in contrast with Iranian reports the attack had been thwarted, the drone did in fact strike the facility. The extent of the damage, if any, was not yet known, the official said.
Earlier Wednesday, Iranian media outlets quoted defense officials in the country as saying a drone attack on the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization building had been thwarted.
Nournews, a website believed to be close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, reported Wednesday that the attack was foiled "before causing any damage to the building." It said the case was "under investigation."
On Sunday, Iranian state TV reported the country's sole nuclear power plant had undergone an unexplained temporary emergency shutdown.
An official from the state electric company Tavanir, Gholamali Rakhshanimehr, said that the shutdown at the Bushehr plant, 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) south of Tehran, began on Saturday and would last "for three to four days."
Without elaborating, he said that power outages could result. This is the first time Iran has reported an emergency shutdown of the plant, which went online in 2011 with help from Russia. Iran is required to send spent fuel rods from the reactor back to Russia as a nuclear nonproliferation measure.
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