Israel has unveiled top secret files it claims prove Iran is trying to secretly build a nuclear bomb, it has been reported.
It will now use the explosive “evidence” to pile pressure on the UK and its European partners to tear up the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
One document is said to be a 2001 memo handing responsibility for the production of weapons-grade enriched uranium to Iran’s defence chiefs.
It was one of 100,000 files seized from a Tehran warehouse by agents of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, reports the Times.
What does Israel claim the seized documents prove?
The secret memo – from the Iranian atomic energy authority to the defence ministry – is said to authorise the military to take over the task of enriching uranium.
Israel says some of the higher uranium levels mentioned in the seized document suggest the intention to create a nuclear weapon.
Nuclear bombs work by using a conventional charge, or trigger, to pound two sections of enriched uranium together.
When they clash, a neutron is powered into a uranium-235 atom, splitting it and releasing more neutrons which in turn split more atoms.
This creates a chemical chain reaction and the devastatingly large explosions which have become the stuff of nightmares.
The document is signed on behalf of the Iranian army by Amir Daryaban Ali Shamkami, now military adviser to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
What is Israel planning to do with the top secret info now?
The haul will now be made available to the security services of Britain, France and Germany ahead of this week’s European visit by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
He has made it clear he hopes to persuade the three countries to follow President Trump in withdrawing from the deal.
Netanyahu will use the new “findings” to try and convince PM Theresa May that the multinational accord is invalid since it is based on “lies”.
Trump pointed to Iran’s refusal to come clean about its nuclear programme as a reason to pull out of the deal and reimpose US sanctions.
He said he would also work to find a “real, comprehensive, and lasting” deal that tackled not only the Iranian nuclear programme but its ballistic missile tests and activities across the Middle East.
Will the UK, Germany and France pull out of the deal?
In a rare joint statement the leaders of the three countries last month insisted they had “no intention of walking away” from the deal despite the United States pulling out.
However, Israel’s new evidence may force them to reconsider – but only after security experts have checked out the validity of the claims and the credibility of the documents.
It’s been reported both France and Germany are very reluctant to pull out of the deal as they have been counting on the lifting of sanctions to pursue commercial deals in Iran.
They argue opening up the Iranian economy will help to modernise the country making it more peaceful.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has also said the UK would “strive to preserve the gains” made by the international agreement.
A watchdog has reported nine times that Iran had complied with the terms of the agreement, he added.
When could Iran get the bomb?
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, has told the Wall Street Journal: “It would take many years for Iran to have a working nuclear arsenal.”
But Jeffrey Lewis, a non-proliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told the paper Iran was “quite far along” on its weaponisation technology.
He added: “What we don’t know is how well they (Iranian warhead efforts) would work on a first test.”
What does Iran say?
Iran built a massive programme designed to give it nuclear weapons capability, entirely in secret, then it got caught red handed.
Instead of dismantling its illegal facilities, it just kept on developing them. It was ultimately forced to enter negotiations only because of tough international sanctions.
Since then it has insisted it still needs to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes – without explaining exactly why.
It is one the most oil and gas rich nations in the world and its one nuclear power plant can use Russian fuel only.
In the words of US Iran expert Ray Takeyh, Iran is like someone who buys a gallon of petrol every day but does not own a car.
Source » thesun