Israeli Expert: Mysterious Explosion at Iran's Nuclear Facility a Result of 'Pre-Planned Sabotage'

JERUSALEM, Israel - A series of recent mysterious explosions inside Iran have left many wondering if these mishaps are sabotage against the Iranian regime. 

The mysterious events range from a shipyard fire to a gas line explosion. 

While no clear evidence has surfaced regarding sabotage as the cause of all these explosions, Israeli investigative journalist Ronen Bergman and author of Rise and Kill First says the explosion at Iran’s Natanz nuclear site clearly stands out. 

“The bombing there, the explosion, the blast that destroyed the whole facility for the installment and balancing of centrifuges in Natanz was the direct result of preplanned sabotage,” Bergman told CBN News.  

“Whoever was behind that demonstrated, I think, the highest capability, nothing less than exquisite, of intelligence collection.”

Experts estimate the damage at the facility sets back Iran’s nuclear program by as much as two years. An unknown group calling themselves the “Homeland Cheetahs” claimed responsibility but might not be the only actor involved. 

The New York Times quoted an anonymous Middle Eastern intelligence source that said Israel was behind the blast.

Bergman draws no connection between Israel and the Homeland Cheetahs. He suspects the Natanz attack could be part of a bigger US-Israel plan.   

“In another report, we indicated that there are American sources who, together with Israeli officials, are thinking of a new policy towards Iran. 

"So not just this specific incident, but a bigger policy that this sabotage is part of,” Bergman explained. “A campaign of calculated operations, not trying to open war with Iran, but trying to send a message that Israel or the United States would not accept the continuation of the advancement of the Iranian nuclear project.”

He said it’s all part of a secret war between Iran and Israel and the US going back more than 30 years since the Islamic revolution in 1979.  

“The war has already started. It’s ongoing. It just is not happening in the battlefield with thousands of tanks and airplanes, but it’s happening as war is happening in 2020. Clandestine operations, secret operatives going undercover, smuggling explosives into sensitive facilities, cyberattacks and everything that is happening in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.”

This clandestine war pits Iran’s regional and nuclear goals against both Israeli and American attempts to do everything they can to prevent Iran from a nuclear bomb and dominating the Middle East.