A magnitude 4.8 earthquake that struck central Iran on Friday should not have damaged nuclear centrifuges in a key atomic energy facility, a source knowledgeable on the matter told The Jerusalem Post.
The earthquake struck in the Natanz area of the central Iranian province of Isfahan, where a key nuclear site is located, local media reported.
The source, Institute for Science and International Security director David Albright, told the Post that Natanz’s nuclear centrifuges would not have been damaged because they were built with shock isolation.
Additionally, the Post learned from Albright that the earthquake was not caused by any tests from the facility, seeing as the shocks were felt too deep in a populated area that was known to have deep fault lines.
This also means that the earthquake could not have been caused by a nuclear attack on the facility.
Iranian nuclear officials confirm reports
Atomic energy officials told Iranian media that the earthquakes should not have affected the nuclear facilities.
“The Natanz nuclear facility is designed in such a way that it is not affected by even much stronger earthquakes,” Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi told state media.
Media reports said there were no casualties from the quake but that a historic caravanserai, or caravan inn, in the old bazaar of Natanz, was flattened, and some older buildings were damaged.
Albright told the Post that if the International Atomic Energy Association still has access to the Natanz facility, the organization would likely conduct an incident report soon.
Reuters contributed to this report.