EPA Natanz is heavily protected, with its most sensitive machinery housed deep underground The long-running and undeclared shadow war between two of the Middle East’s most implacable foes, Iran and Israel, appears to be heating up. Iran has blamed Israel for a mysterious explosion at the weekend that knocked out power at its uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. Israel has not publicly said it was behind what Iran calls “an act of sabotage” but US and Israeli media reports are quoting officials as saying it was carried out by Israel’s overseas intelligence agency, Mossad. Iran has vowed to take revenge “at a time of its choosing”. This is not an isolated incident. It follows a gradually accelerating pattern of hostile, tit-for-tat actions by both countries as they step up their covert war while being careful – so far – to avoid an all-out conflict which would be hugely destructive […]