Unconfirmed report quotes ‘Middle Eastern intelligence official’ saying Israel behind the explosion at top secret nuclear facility; rockets fired from Gaza Sunday night might be an initial Iranian response.
By Paul Shindman, World Israel News
Following a New York Times report alleging Israel was behind the mysterious explosion at an Iranian nuclear site, Israeli sources speculated Monday that a rocket attack from Gaza over the weekend might be the first Iranian response.
The Times report on the weekend quoted an unidentified “Middle Eastern intelligence official with knowledge of the episode” who said the damage at the top secret Natanz nuclear facility was caused by a bomb and not by a cyberattack as first speculated.
A previous report in a Kuwaiti newspaper claimed Israel had carried out an airstrike on Natanz using F-35 stealth bombers.
However, Defense Minister Benny Gantz denied the reports, saying “not every incident that transpires in Iran necessarily has something to do with us.”
Although an Iranian military official confirmed that Natanz had been seriously damaged by a bomb, attention focused on a possible Iranian retaliation.
Several rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza Sunday evening in what the Security Parliament news stream speculated could be a first Iranian retaliation using the Islamic Jihad terror group – an Iranian-backed proxy in Gaza known to act independently of the Hamas terror organization that runs Gaza.
“Iran’s concern is that the lack of response will be interpreted as a weakness similar to what is happening in Syria as a result of attacks attributed to Israel on Iranian targets,” Security Parliament tweeted.
Veteran Arab affairs analyst Yoni Ben Menachem said that after Iran pointed the finger of blame at Israel, the Jewish state is trying to distance itself from the Natanz bombing as well as an explosion last week in the mountains outside Iran and another explosion at a power plant over the weekend.
“Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will determine the nature and timing of the Iranian response,” Ben Menachem tweeted.
未经证实的报道援引“中东情报官员”的话说，以色列是在最高秘密核设施爆炸案的幕后黑手。周日晚上从加沙发射的火箭可能是伊朗的最初反应。
保罗·辛德曼（Paul Shindman），《世界以色列新闻》
在《纽约时报》报道指称以色列是在伊朗核基地发生神秘爆炸的背后之后，以色列消息人士周一推测，周末加沙地带的火箭弹袭击可能是伊朗的第一反应。
上周末，《泰晤士报》报道援引一位身份不明的“中东情报官员，知道这一事件”的话说，最高机密纳坦兹核设施的损坏是由炸弹而不是最初推测的网络攻击造成的。
科威特一家报纸的先前报道称，以色列使用F-35隐形轰炸机对纳坦兹进行了空袭。
但是，国防部长本尼·甘茨（Benny Gantz）否认了这些报道，他说：“并非每一次在伊朗发生的事件都一定与我们有关。”
安全议会在推特上说：“伊朗担心的是，缺乏回应将被解释为一种弱点，类似于由于以色列对伊朗目标发动的袭击而在叙利亚造成的后果。”
尽管一名伊朗军方官员确认纳坦兹已被炸弹严重炸毁，但注意力仍集中在可能的伊朗报复上。
星期天晚上，从加沙向以色列发射了几枚火箭弹，据安全议会新闻流推测，这可能是伊朗首次使用伊斯兰圣战恐怖组织进行报复。伊朗伊斯兰共和国在加沙地带的代理机构独立于经营加沙的哈马斯恐怖组织而行动。
资深阿拉伯事务分析师Yoni Ben Menachem表示，在伊朗指责以色列之后，犹太国家正试图与纳坦兹爆炸事件以及上周在伊朗外围山区发生的爆炸以及在发电厂的另一起爆炸事件保持距离 整个周末。
本·梅纳赫姆（Ben Menachem）发推文说：“伊朗最高领导人阿里·哈梅内伊（Ali Khamenei）将决定伊朗反应的性质和时机。”