A fire that broke out at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility on Thursday caused significant damage, the country's atomic agency admitted on Sunday.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, said the fire could slow down Tehran's development and production of advanced centrifuges in the medium term.
Mr Kamalvandi said Iran would replace the damaged building with a larger one containing more advanced equipment.
The agency initially reported only that an "incident" had occurred early on Thursday at Natanz, in the desert of the central province of Isfahan.
It later published a photo of a one-storey brick building with its roof and walls partly burnt.
A door hanging off its hinges showed that there had been an explosion inside the building.
Iranian officials later suggested the fire might have been the result of a cyber attack but refused to make the cause public because of "security reasons".
Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Salehi, told the Iranian News Agency on Sunday that "various scenarios" about the incident were under investigation and the results would be announced soon.
The agency quoted Mr Kamalvandi as saying uranium enrichment was continuing far from the site of the fire.
The Natanz uranium-enrichment site, much of which is underground, is one of several Iranian complexes monitored by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.
The agency said on Friday that the fire did not ignite near nuclear materials, and that none of its inspectors was present at the time.
Less than a week earlier, there was mysterious blast at a suspected missile development centre at Parchin, east of Tehran.
Iranian officials said the explosion, which was felt in the capital about 20 kilometres away, was caused by a gas leak.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Profile
Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Number of employees: seven
Sector: e-learning
Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
Fixtures
Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
Note: All matches start at 10am, admission is free
