The Iranian outlet IranView24 published a first batch of documents overnight Thursday, purportedly taken from what Tehran is calling “the greatest blow to Israeli intelligence” in history.
Though the documents do not appear to contain any concrete evidence, they are being used to accuse Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), of cooperating with Israel.
The publication came as the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations at its meeting in Vienna on Thursday.
This is the first time the U.N. nuclear watchdog has taken such a step in almost 20 years, raising the prospect of reporting it to the U.N. Security Council.
Less than a month ago, Grossi issued a scathing report accusing Iran of concealing aspects of its nuclear activities and moving dangerously close to developing nuclear weapons.
The documents leaked by Theran seem to relate to correspondence involving Merav Zafary-Odiz, Israel’s Ambassador to the IAEA.
The first document is an Israeli request to meet with Grossi in his capacity at the time as chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The request references “recent developments”, a phrase that Iranian media links to a missile test conducted by Tehran around that period.
Another correspondence includes an email exchange between Zafary-Odiz and a representative of the University of Washington regarding a possible panel participation. The Iranian outlet claims the person she was corresponding with, identified as “Ali,” is an IAEA representative, though this allegation remains unsubstantiated.
For several months, Iran has been running a smear campaign against Grossi, centered largely on the damning report released about two weeks ago.
Accusations of collaboration with Israel had already surfaced in connection with the alleged “document theft,” and Grossi himself addressed the issue, stating the materials in question likely pertain to Israel’s Soreq Nuclear Research Center, which is under IAEA oversight.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
