[12][8] A Western analyst stated that the explosion in Parchin had occurred in a missile storage facility, with hidden nuclear detonation technology work.
[14][15] Citing an unnamed senior source, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported that the facility was destroyed in an airstrike by Israeli F-35 stealth fighter jets.
[1][21] The same day, a US-based source reported that a group calling itself the "Homeland Panthers" (Persian: یوزپلنگان وطن yuzpalangan vatan) claimed responsibility for the explosion at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.
[22] The New York Times claimed that a source which it identified as a "Middle Eastern intelligence official with knowledge of the episode" told the newspaper that Israel was responsible for the attack, and that a powerful bomb had been used.
In addition, it cited an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps member who was briefed on the topic and had spoken to the newspaper anonymously as claiming that an explosive device was used.
[23] The New York Times later reported that officials with knowledge stated the blast was most likely the result of a bomb, possibly at a strategic gas line, but a cyberattack was not out of the question.
[27] According to Western analysts the factory was near the warehouse where an archive of information on Iran's nuclear program was stolen in a raid by Israeli intelligence agents in 2018.
Analysts speaking to The New York Times said that the blast had hit an area with underground facilities, associated with chemical weapons research and an unidentified military production site.