Israel was likely behind a July 2 explosion and fire at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, and potentially some of the other similar incidents that have occurred near Tehran over the past two weeks, including a June 26 explosion at the Khojir missile complex. Although Tel Aviv doesn't typically claim its covert actions against Iran, motive and past history make Israel the most likely actor to conduct such sabotage operations against Iranian infrastructure and assets. On July 5, an unnamed intelligence official told The New York Times that Israel was responsible for placing the "powerful bomb" that was detonated in a new centrifuge assembly facility at Natanz. The Washington Post and other media outlets have also pointed to a plausible Israeli operation behind the July 2 explosion.