Israeli PM calls struggling against Iran huge task after Natanz nuke facility blackout

Xinhua reported that he made the remarks hours after Iran announced that a blackout at its underground Natanz nuclear facility was an act of "nuclear terrorism."

"The struggle against Iran and its proxies and Iranian armament is a huge task," Netanyahu told a meeting of senior Israeli security officials, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's office, as quoted by Xinhua.

"The situation that exists today is not necessarily the one that will exist tomorrow," he said.

The Hebrew-language Ynet news site quoted anonymous intelligence officials as saying Israel's Mossad espionage agency was behind the blackout, as cited by Xinhua.

The escalation came as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel for a two-day visit and security talks. The Biden administration has been holding indirect talks over a possible renewal of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Netanyahu frequently made remarks against Iran, accusing it of planning to build nuclear weapons that will threaten Israel.

On Sunday morning, Iran reported that the Natanz nuclear plant suffered an accident involving its electricity distribution network. Hours later, AEOI chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, described the accident as "nuclear terrorism", according to Sputnik.