Israeli intelligence agencies planted explosives inside equipment destined for Iran’s nuclear programme, the Islamic Republic’s vice president has said.

Javad Zarif disclosed that Iranian officials discovered explosives embedded within a centrifuge platform.

“Our friends at the atomic energy organisation had bought a centrifuge platform and it was discovered that explosives had been embedded inside it,” Mr Zarif told state television on Tuesday.

The former foreign minister and chief negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal with Western powers did not provide specific details about the incident or its timing.

However, a series of suspected sabotage attempts have targeted Iran’s nuclear programme in recent years, including attacks on key centres and the assassination of prominent nuclear scientists.

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Iran’s centrifuges are controversial because if enriched highly, uranium can be used for nuclear bombs. Tehran insists it is only doing so for civilian purposes such as fuel, agriculture and medicine.

Mr Zarif acknowledged the successful infiltrations and blamed the impact of international sanctions for the Islamic Republic’s vulnerability to Israel.

“These are the harms of sanctions. Instead of being able to order equipment directly from the manufacturer, sanctions force you to rely on multiple intermediaries for such purchases,” Mr Zarif said.

“If the Zionist regime infiltrates even one of the intermediaries, they can do anything and embed anything they want, which is exactly what happened,” he added.

Israel’s infiltrations have extended beyond Iran’s nuclear programme.

The Telegraph revealed in 2024 that Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, hired Iranian agents to plant bombs in a guest house north of Tehran to assassinate Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas leader.

They struck a series of damaging blows against Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terror group and Iranian proxy, in 2024.

Thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah militants exploded simultaneously in September, killing at least 42 people.

Israel followed this attack with another major blow, killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike.

Mr Zarif’s comments come at a tense time in Iran, with the regime significantly weakened by Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah, the fall of key ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the return of Donald Trump.

Islamic Republic officials have softened their rhetoric about striking Israel in retaliation for their attacks in October on Iranian military sites since Mr Trump’s election victory.

Before, they had frequently threatened retaliation but have made fewer warnings since Mr Trump’s return.

Analysts say Tehran is concerned that any future military strikes against Israel could provoke a US response.

Meanwhile, the White House has warned the president-elect that Iran may pursue building a nuclear bomb after being weakened by conflicts in the Middle East.

Iranian MPs urged the clerical regime last year to develop nuclear weapons to establish a “power balance” in the region.

One MP said, “I believe we need to conduct a nuclear bomb test, and there is no other way for us.”

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