Natanz is a city and capital of Natanz County, Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 12,060, in 3,411 families. It is located south-east of Kashan. Its bracing climate and locally produced fruit are well known in Iran. Its pear fruits are well known. The Karkas mountain chain , at an elevation of 3,899 meters, rises above the town. Various small shrines dot the area, and it is known as the shrine of Abd as-Samad. The elements in the present complex date from 1304 with subsequent additions and restorations, such as the Khaneqah and Muqarnas vault. The tomb honors the SufiSheikh Abd al-Samad, and was built by the Sheikh's disciple, the IlkhanidvizierZain al-Din Mastari.
Nuclear facility
Natanz nuclear facility, located some 30 km NNW from the town near a major highway, is generally recognized as Iran's central facility for uranium enrichment with over 19,000 gas centrifuges currently operational and nearly half of them being fed with uranium hexafluoride. Enrichment of uranium at the plant was halted in July 2004 during negotiations with European countries. In 2006, Iran announced that it would resume enrichment. In September 2007, the Iranian government announced that they had installed 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz. In 2010, the International Atomic Energy Agency was told by the Iranian government that future enrichment programmes would take place at Natanz, and they would start in March 2011. In January 2013, Fereydoun Abbasi from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said: "five percent uranium enrichment is continuing at Natanz, and we will continue 20 percent enrichment at Fordo and Natanz to meet our needs". Daily inspection by the IAEA of the Natanz site was agreed as part of the nuclear enrichment reduction agreement made with the P5+1 countries in November 2013. Between 2007–2010 Natanz nuclear power plant was hit by a sophisticated cyber attack that was carried out by German, French, British, American, Dutch and Israeli intelligence organizations. The attack used a Stuxnet worm which hampered the operation of plant's centrifuges and caused damage to them over time. The goal of the cyber attack was not to destroy the nuclear program of Iran completely but to stall it enough for sanctions and diplomacy to take effect. This was successful as a nuclear treaty with Iran was reached in July 2015. On 2 July 2020, a fire and explosion hit around 2 a.m. local time a centrifugeproduction plant at a nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. A group known as the "Cheetahs of the Homeland" claimed responsibility for the attack. Some Iranian officials suggested that the incident may have been caused by cyber sabotage.
