Israel ‘hid explosives inside Iranian nuclear gear’ in plot just like lethal pager bomb assault that devastated Hezbollah

Israel reportedly hid explosives inside Iranian nuclear equipment in a plot similar to the deadly pager bomb attack that devastated Hezbollah.

Javad Zarif, Iran‘s former foreign minister and chief negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal, revealed the allegations during a televised interview, claiming Iranian officials discovered the explosives embedded within a centrifuge platform.

‘Our friends at the atomic energy organisation had bought a centrifuge platform, and it was discovered that explosives had been embedded inside it,’ Mr Zarif stated on Tuesday. 

He did not provide details on when or where the alleged incident took place.

This revelation comes against the backdrop of a series of suspected sabotage attempts on Iran’s nuclear facilities over recent years, including high-profile attacks and the assassination of prominent nuclear scientists. 

Centrifuges, critical to uranium enrichment, are a focal point of international concern due to their potential use in producing nuclear weapons. 

Iran, however, insists its nuclear ambitions are purely for civilian purposes, such as medical and agricultural uses.

Mr Zarif admitted Israel’s infiltration had succeeded and blamed international sanctions for Iran’s vulnerability. 

‘These are the harms of sanctions,’ he said. 

‘Instead of being able to order equipment directly from the manufacturer, sanctions force you to rely on multiple intermediaries. 

‘If the Zionist regime infiltrates even one intermediary, they can do anything and embed anything they want, which is exactly what happened.’

The allegations come as Israel’s covert campaign against Iranian-linked groups continues to escalate. 

Last year, Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, had hired Iranian agents to plant bombs at a guesthouse near Tehran to assassinate former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. 

Additionally, a series of sabotage attacks on Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Tehran, dealt significant blows to Iran’s regional allies.

Among these attacks, thousands of handheld pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah militants exploded simultaneously last September, killing at least 42 people. 

Hazbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said more than 4,000 devices were detonated with the intention of killing thousands.

‘This could be called a declaration of war,’ Nasrallah told his followers at the time. 

‘We have received a very hard hit, but this is the state of war. Through this experience and its lessons we will be stronger and more powerful.’ 

Nasrallah said the explosions had ‘happened in hospitals, pharmacies, markets, shops, houses and in cars,’ as well as in the streets ‘where many civilians were along with women and children.’

‘This is the scale of criminality,’ he said. ‘What can we call this kind of criminal action – is it a big operation? Is it genocide? Is it a massacre?’

This was followed by an Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, marking a major setback for the Iran-backed group.

Mr Zarif’s remarks highlight a challenging moment for Iran’s regime, which faces growing instability. 

The fall of key ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria, mounting setbacks in its regional campaigns, and the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency have placed Tehran on the defensive.

Israeli operations targeting Iran’s nuclear and proxy activities are likely to intensify, adding further strain to a regime already weakened by sanctions and internal unrest. 

For now, Iran’s nuclear ambitions remain a flashpoint for geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.