MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Moscow hopes that the latest incident at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility will not undermine the ongoing efforts to put the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program back on track, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
"Another thing that causes concern is how this situation will impact the multilateral efforts to restore the full-fledged functioning of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action meant to settle the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a commentary published on the ministry's website.
Hopefully, "what happened won't be a gift for the wide range of opponents of the JCPOA and won't undermine the consultations on the Vienna platform, which are gaining momentum, aimed at reviving these agreements," the commentary said.
"If it is confirmed that someone's malicious actions stand behind that incident, such a plot deserves resolute condemnation," it said.
The ministry said it is sure that the cause of the incident "will be thoroughly investigated by Iran."
The Joint Commission of the JCPOA resumed its work in Vienna last week. Its key objective is to draw up the steps that may be taken to persuade the United States to return to the Iranian nuclear deal after the U.S. withdrew from it under President Donald Trump in 2018.
An incident occurred at the power distribution network of the Shahid Ahmadi Roshan facility in Natanz on Sunday. Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi has described this power failure as "nuclear terrorism." Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Monday blamed Israel for the Natanz incident. Tehran has vowed to retaliate.
The Jerusalem Post newspaper, in turn, said that it was a "cyberattack" reportedly involving Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. The Jerusalem Post said later, citing its sources, that the operation targeting the Iranian enrichment enterprise in Natanz was prepared long before talks on the JCPOA began in Vienna.