ABDUL QADEER KHAN

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service.

Khan launched Pakistan on the path to becoming a nuclear weapons power in the early 1970s. His family said he died of COVID-19 following a lengthy illness.

Pakistan says Abdul Qadeer Khan, a controversial figure known as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, has died at age 85.

Iran’s nuclear program has been targeted by diplomatic efforts and sabotage attacks over the last decade, with the latest incident striking its underground Natanz facility.

This Friday, July 3, 2020 satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. that has been annotated by experts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Middlebury Institute of International Studies shows a damaged building after a fire and explosion at Iran's Natanz nuclear site. An online video and messages purportedly claiming responsibility for a fire that analysts say damaged a centrifuge assembly plant at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear site deepened the mystery Friday around the incident even as Tehran insisted it knew the cause but would not make it public due to "security reasons." (Planet Labs Inc., James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Middlebury Institute of International Studies via AP)

A fire burned the building above Iran's underground Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, though officials say it did not affect its centrifuge operation or cause any release of radiation. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)DUBAI An online video and messages purportedly claiming responsibility for a fire that analysts say damaged a centrifuge assembly plant at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear site deepened the mystery Friday around the incident. Two U.S.-based analysts who spoke to The Associated Press, relying on released pictures and satellite images, identified the affected building as Natanz's new Iran Centrifuge Assembly Center. Iranian nuclear officials did not respond to a request for comment from the AP on the analysts' findings. A video claimed the group included soldiers from the heart of regimes security organizations who wanted to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.