Israel, whose undeclared atomic weapons programme makes it the only country in the Mideast with nuclear bombs, has not acknowledged any such Iranian operation targeting it — though there have been arrests of Israelis allegedly spying for Tehran amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Iran, meanwhile, will likely face censure this week from the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency over longstanding questions about its programme.
Iran has also signalled it will reject a proposal from the United States after five rounds of negotiations over its nuclear programme — setting the stage for that long-running crisis to potentially spike as well.
‘Treasury’ of secrets claim comes without evidence Responding to questions from an Iranian state TV reporter Sunday after a Cabinet meeting, Khatib said members of the Intelligence Ministry “achieved an important treasury of strategic, operational and scientific intelligence of the Zionist regime and it was transferred into the country with God’s help.” He claimed thousands of pages of documents had been obtained and insisted they would be made public soon. Among them were documents related to the US, Europe and other countries, he claimed, obtained through “infiltration” and “access to the sources.” He did not elaborate on the methods used. However, Khatib, a Shiite cleric, was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 over directing “cyber espionage and ransomware attacks in support of Iran’s political goals.” For Iran, the claim may be designed to show the public that the theocracy was able to respond to a 2018 Israeli operation that spirited out what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “half ton” of documents related to Iran’s programme.
That Israeli announcement came just before President Donald Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew America from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which greatly limited its programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Announcement ahead of IAEA board vote, as US talks waver This week, Western nations are expected to go before the IAEA’s Board of Governors with a proposal to find Iran in noncompliance with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. It could be the first time in decades — and likely would kick the issue to the UN Security Council.
That could see one of the Western countries involved in the 2015 nuclear deal invoke the so-called “snapback” of UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The authority to reestablish those sanctions by the complaint of any member of the original 2015 nuclear deal expires in October — putting the West on a clock to exert pressure on Tehran over its programme before losing that power.
Iran now enriches uranium up to 60 per cent purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. Tehran has enough highly enriched uranium to build multiple atomic bombs should it choose to do so.
Without a deal with the US, Iran’s long-ailing economy could enter a freefall that could worsen the simmering unrest at home. Israel or the US might carry out long-threatened airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. Experts fear Tehran in response could decide to fully end its cooperation with the IAEA and rush toward a bomb. (AP) GRS GRS
