On Sunday, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, announced that authorities had made arrests after investigating an alleged plot to sabotage one the country's nuclear facilities.
Salehi never indicated as to which nuclear site was to be the target of the intended attack, but told the Mehr news agency that "four of these individuals were caught red-handed and their interrogations are ongoing."
No reports on the arrests have suggested any countries that may have been responsible for the planned attacks, but by hinting that they are investigating the potential of involvement from hostile nations, points the finger at Israel.
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Iran has already accused Israel, and its western allies, in the past of assassinating several Iranian nuclear scientists and carrying out several cyber-attacks in an attempt to delay progress of Iran's nuclear program.
Other than Israel, some believe that the US could have had a hand in the plots, but Salehi also warns that it is quite possible that the attacks are from a domestic source who opposes Hassan Rouhani's recent offerings of peace to Washington in a ground-breaking attempt to develop a cooperative relationship.
He believes that "hostile countries are not interested in finding way out of current situation and they are trying to block agreement on the nuclear case though acts of sabotage." Salehi admitted that several similar such plots had been foiled over the past few weeks; but again, he refused to elaborate.
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The West is once more set to begin talks with Iran over the country's nuclear program, with hopes high that during next week's UN General Assembly gathering in Geneva, progress can finally be made to bring the whole affair closer to an end.
Iran is keen to find a solution and end the US sanctions which are seriously restricting its economy, however they have still not hinted at how they plan to satisfy Western concerns about the nuclear program, enough to earn a reprieve from the sanctions.
By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com
James Burgess studied Business Management at the University of Nottingham. He has worked in property development, chartered surveying, marketing, law, and accounts. He has also… More