Iran said Thursday it had thwarted an alleged sabotage attack orchestrated by the Israeli spy agency Mossad against the country’s missile industry.
In an announcement on state TV, the Defence Ministry said the “biggest industrial sabotage” in the missile industry was “prevented and neutralized” by the ministry’s intelligence unit.
“The intelligence unit of the Defence Ministry thwarted one of the largest sabotage plots targeting Iran’s missile, aviation and airspace military indus-try,” the state TV said, adding the plan was carried out “under the guidance of the Zionist intelligence services,” referring to Mossad.
The ministry said the sabotage plot sought to introduce “defective parts” into the production of missiles with the help of a network of Mossad agents. Citing an unnamed security official, Nour News, which is affiliated with Iran’s top security body, said the country’s missile industry has “always been the target of industrial sabotage” due to its “strategic effectiveness as a” deterrent against enemy threats.”
The alleged sabotage plot, it said, was active over the past several months, and intended to introduce “defective parts” in the production of advanced missiles, but Iran’s intelligence agencies were monitoring it.
A senior military official said that had the sabotage program not been discovered, it could have deactivated all missiles.
Read also: Israel accuses UN nuclear watchdog of ‘capitulating’ to Iran There was no Israeli comment on the Iranian claim.—AFP
