'Incident' at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility causes 'no damage'

The Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant is one of several Iranian facilities monitored by the United Nations nuclear watchdog

(FILES) A file photo taken on March 30, 2005 shows a general view of the Iranian nuclear power plant of Natanz, 270 kms south of Tehran.  Attention is once again focused on how close Iran could be to a nuclear weapon, after Tehran said on July 7, 2019 it had started enriching uranium to a higher level than agreed in a 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by the US. The Islamic republic has also said a "third phase" of reducing its commitments under the JCPOA may take place in the coming months if no agreement can be reached with the other parties. One direction this could take is an increase in centrifuge installation, particularly of more advanced models such as the IR-2M. More than 1,000 of these were removed from Natanz and put into storage under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). / AFP / AFP FILES / HENGHAMEH FAHIMI
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An "incident" has occurred at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility but no damage was caused and the site is operating as usual, the national Atomic Energy Organisation said on Thursday.

The Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), covering 100,000 square metres and built eight metres underground, is one of several Iranian facilities monitored by the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

"The incident took place in a facility in an open area near Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. There were no casualties or damages and the nuclear site is operating as usual," the agency's spokesman, Behrouz Kamalvandi, was quoted as saying by Iran's Tasnim news agency.

A team of experts from Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation is investigating the cause of the incident, he said.

"There is no concern about the possibility of contamination as one of the sheds which was inactive and under construction was damaged and not the facility itself," Mr Kamalvandi told state news agency IRNA.