CIA’s Nuclear-Bomb Sting Said to Spur Review in Iran Arms Case

[JonLP24]

<snip>
International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in Vienna will probably review intelligence they received about Iran as a result of the revelations, said the two diplomats who are familiar with the IAEA’s Iran file and asked not to be named because the details are confidential. The CIA passed doctored blueprints for nuclear-weapon components to Iran in February 2000, trial documents have shown.

<snip>

The UN agency is charged with deciding whether the Iranian government has been trying to develop nuclear weapons and its ruling may determine whether international sanctions against the country are lifted. While Iranian officials have consistently accused the IAEA of basing its case on forged documents, the agency has never acknowledged receiving tampered evidence.

<snip>

IAEA inspectors don’t only rely on spy data, according to one of the diplomats, who pointed to the agency’s assessment of Iran’s Parchin Military complex, where the country is alleged to have tested high explosives. Satellite imagery analysis and open-source data also play roles, the person said.

<snip>

“The falsification of nuclear-related documents is a very real part of such states’ efforts to frustrate Iran’s nuclear program,” said Joyner, who has written extensively on nuclear proliferation risks. “This revelation highlights the dangers of reliance by the IAEA upon evidence concerning Iran provided to it by third party states whose political agendas are antithetical to Iran.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-20/cia-s-nuclear-bomb-sting-said-to-spur-review-in-iran-arms-case

I recommend the entire article

Interesting article I from 2010

The International Atomic Energy Agency has been trying to find out what a Russian-Ukrainian scientist who had carried out pioneering work on the Soviet nuclear bomb at Chelyabinsk in Siberia, was doing in Iran in the mid-90s.

The scientist, now back in Moscow, is an expert in the implosion techniques necessary for rigging up a nuclear warheads.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/19/wikileaks-cables-egypt-nuclear-weapons

[bigtree]

1. the IAEA suspected fabricated evidence from the US on Iran's nuclear program as early as 2008

from Raw Story:

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has obtained evidence suggesting that documents which have been described as technical studies for a secret Iranian nuclear weapons-related research program may have been fabricated.

The documents in question were acquired by U.S. intelligence in 2004 from a still unknown source -- most of them in the form of electronic files allegedly stolen from a laptop computer belonging to an Iranian researcher. The US has based much of its push for sanctions against Iran on these documents.

The new evidence of possible fraud has increased pressure within the IAEA secretariat to distance the agency from the laptop documents, according to a Vienna-based diplomatic source close to the IAEA, who spoke to RAW STORY on condition of anonymity.

The laptop documents include what the IAEA has described in a published report as technical drawings of efforts to redesign the nosecone of the Iranian Shahab-3 ballistic missile to accommodate a nuclear warhead. The documents are also said to include studies on the use of a high explosive detonation system, drawings of a shaft apparently to be used for nuclear tests, and studies on a bench-scale uranium conversion facility...


read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/IAEA_suspects_fraud_in_evidence_for_1109.html

[JonLP24]

3. My first impressions

are it seems US was trying to "plant" evidence on Iran rather than disrupt it or the earlier reported "goal" of the CIA mission.

Still digesting here, I read a report that US wasn't cooperating in the prosecution of the top black market nuclear dealer. Also, Georgia & Turkey are usually the two countries reported when it comes to black market deals (IIRC, most of it was "dirty bomb" material transactions)

[Rex]

2. The CIA HELPED Iran figure out how to make a nuke! What the fuck is wrong with them?

Yeah this is old news, I remember reading about it when it came out. What a dumb fucking thing to do, hey here is an idea how about giving them NO plans.

[JonLP24]

4. If I'm not mistaken, I believe reports on an IAEA review is recent

OTOH, I'm not sure what the review will entail. The above appears to be the most detailed--credible source I can find. RT, Jerusalem Post, Tehran Daily, and Press TV has jumped all over this with assertions over this. RT can be good when it comes to the US--except they have an apparent bias when it comes to Russian allies -- Assad, Iran. Jerusalem Post (don't know them, afraid they could be 1 of many anti-semitic reporting organizations), Press TV (Don't know them -- but I'm weary when they have multiple stories on this but few else besides them).

What does seem clear is there appears to be no hard evidence against Iran in over a decade when the US was in black market deals with Iran.