JERUSALEM: Israel said on Tuesday it had evidence that Iran Nearly two decades ago, the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency stole confidential documents and used them to hide its nuclear activities from international observers. Documents suggest Iran was spying on inspectors and trying to anticipate and respond to any allegations of wrongdoing, but there is no evidence that it was pursuing nuclear weapons. The release comes as Israel is pressing the US and other world powers not to restore a broken nuclear deal with Iran.
prime minister of israel Naftali Bennett Distributed documents to the media. His office said they came from a trove of Iranian nuclear files seized by Israel in 2018 but had not previously been made public. wall street journal first reporting on the documents last week, saying it gave them an “A.” was received from Middle East Intelligence agency” in a country opposing Iran’s nuclear program.
Bennett said he was sharing the documents at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in response to remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who dismissed the allegations as “lies”. The foreign minister pointed to the last time Israel issued a dire warning – which did not pass – that Iran was about to develop a nuclear weapon.
“Spreading lies? Come on. I’m here to take the proof of your lies,” Bennett said in a video broadcast to the media. Persian-language documents, which could not be attested immediately, appear to be marked with official stamps, some containing the word “secret”.
Bennett said, “After Iran stole confidential documents from a UN nuclear agency, Iran used that information to find out what the nuclear agency was hoping to find, and then to avoid its nuclear investigation.” Made a cover story for it and hid the evidence.”
Iran has always insisted that its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes. US intelligence agencies, Western countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said that Iran carried out an organized nuclear weapons program as far back as 2003.
Israel considers Iran to be its biggest threat and was strongly opposed to the 2015 nuclear deal signed by Iran and world powers, saying it would involve Iran developing weapons capability or to address other Iranian military threats in the region. There were not enough security measures in place. welcomed it trump The administration’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the deal, which led to its collapse, opposes US efforts to revive the deal.
Israel is widely considered to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East. It has never publicly admitted to having such a weapon.
One of the documents shared by Israel, an alleged Iranian intelligence memo from 2004, says that “27 pages of classified IAEA documents” are being sent to prepare for inspections of Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor. The reactor produces plutonium as a byproduct, which can be used for nuclear weapons. The memo said the documents were “obtained using intelligence methods.”
Another alleged Iranian intelligence memo, from 2006, provides a translation of a “highly confidential agency report” about the “green salt” project. The US has said that the “Green Salt Project” was an Iranian plan to link various components of the nuclear weapons program, including uranium enrichment, high-explosive tests and a missile re-entry vehicle.
In one set of documents, an Iranian official requests in handwritten notes that the liquidation date of the company operating the Gachin uranium mine be changed from 2001 to 2003. Officials write that the nuclear agency is asking about it, saying “we have to hurry.”
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed intelligence officials, said the change allowed Iran to tell the IAEA that work on the mine was carried out by a private company under the auspices of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency prior to 2003, when In fact the mine was operated by the Ministry of Defense as part of a potential nuclear weapons program.
Biden The administration says it is pushing for a final deal that would lift sanctions on Iran and in turn monitor its nuclear activities. The inspections will likely be carried out by the IAEA.
Since the deal’s collapse, Iran has resumed key aspects of its nuclear program, including enrichment of uranium beyond the limits set forth in the agreement. Israel’s defense minister recently claimed that Iran was just weeks away from producing enough enriched uranium needed to make a bomb.
US envoy for talks Rob Malle acknowledged last week that the chances of success were “weak”. But he said the administration still believes Iran’s nuclear program is nothing less than an external threat within a deal.
Yoel Guzanski, a senior fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and Iran expert, said the leak of documents was intended to impress the US as it tries to close a new deal. But he said that it is not likely to have much effect.
“People understand what the threat is from Iran,” he said. “They understand that Iran has been lying and deceiving and hiding for years. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone, so I don’t see any long-term implications of these documents.”
prime minister of israel Naftali Bennett Distributed documents to the media. His office said they came from a trove of Iranian nuclear files seized by Israel in 2018 but had not previously been made public. wall street journal first reporting on the documents last week, saying it gave them an “A.” was received from Middle East Intelligence agency” in a country opposing Iran’s nuclear program.
Bennett said he was sharing the documents at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in response to remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who dismissed the allegations as “lies”. The foreign minister pointed to the last time Israel issued a dire warning – which did not pass – that Iran was about to develop a nuclear weapon.
“Spreading lies? Come on. I’m here to take the proof of your lies,” Bennett said in a video broadcast to the media. Persian-language documents, which could not be attested immediately, appear to be marked with official stamps, some containing the word “secret”.
Bennett said, “After Iran stole confidential documents from a UN nuclear agency, Iran used that information to find out what the nuclear agency was hoping to find, and then to avoid its nuclear investigation.” Made a cover story for it and hid the evidence.”
Iran has always insisted that its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes. US intelligence agencies, Western countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said that Iran carried out an organized nuclear weapons program as far back as 2003.
Israel considers Iran to be its biggest threat and was strongly opposed to the 2015 nuclear deal signed by Iran and world powers, saying it would involve Iran developing weapons capability or to address other Iranian military threats in the region. There were not enough security measures in place. welcomed it trump The administration’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the deal, which led to its collapse, opposes US efforts to revive the deal.
Israel is widely considered to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East. It has never publicly admitted to having such a weapon.
One of the documents shared by Israel, an alleged Iranian intelligence memo from 2004, says that “27 pages of classified IAEA documents” are being sent to prepare for inspections of Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor. The reactor produces plutonium as a byproduct, which can be used for nuclear weapons. The memo said the documents were “obtained using intelligence methods.”
Another alleged Iranian intelligence memo, from 2006, provides a translation of a “highly confidential agency report” about the “green salt” project. The US has said that the “Green Salt Project” was an Iranian plan to link various components of the nuclear weapons program, including uranium enrichment, high-explosive tests and a missile re-entry vehicle.
In one set of documents, an Iranian official requests in handwritten notes that the liquidation date of the company operating the Gachin uranium mine be changed from 2001 to 2003. Officials write that the nuclear agency is asking about it, saying “we have to hurry.”
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed intelligence officials, said the change allowed Iran to tell the IAEA that work on the mine was carried out by a private company under the auspices of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency prior to 2003, when In fact the mine was operated by the Ministry of Defense as part of a potential nuclear weapons program.
Biden The administration says it is pushing for a final deal that would lift sanctions on Iran and in turn monitor its nuclear activities. The inspections will likely be carried out by the IAEA.
Since the deal’s collapse, Iran has resumed key aspects of its nuclear program, including enrichment of uranium beyond the limits set forth in the agreement. Israel’s defense minister recently claimed that Iran was just weeks away from producing enough enriched uranium needed to make a bomb.
US envoy for talks Rob Malle acknowledged last week that the chances of success were “weak”. But he said the administration still believes Iran’s nuclear program is nothing less than an external threat within a deal.
Yoel Guzanski, a senior fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and Iran expert, said the leak of documents was intended to impress the US as it tries to close a new deal. But he said that it is not likely to have much effect.
“People understand what the threat is from Iran,” he said. “They understand that Iran has been lying and deceiving and hiding for years. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone, so I don’t see any long-term implications of these documents.”