TEHRAN – Iran’s intelligence news agency (or their strings) opened on Saturday as Iran’s national television announced that Iran has obtained sensitive and strategic documents related to Israel’s nuclear facilities.
Sources told the IRIB that the documents had been brought to Iran some time ago, but the intelligence agency needed time to analyze them before breaking the news. Sources added that the penetration represents one of the most significant security breaches Israel has suffered.
With support from the US and France, Israel has been maintaining its operational nuclear program since the 1960s and is currently believed to have at least 90 nuclear warheads. Despite repeated calls by Israeli officials to use nuclear weapons against Palestinians and other populations in the region, international organisations have never prepared a report on the scope or condition of the regime’s nuclear weapons. To this day, much of the information published comes from former engineers at the Dimona nuclear facility, who exposed the government on the nuclear programme to the British press in 1986. He was then convicted of treason and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Saturday’s announcement comes just two weeks after Israeli authorities declared they had arrested two men suspected of committing “security crimes” for Iran. It is unclear whether these arrests are directly related to recent nuclear penetration, but the number of Israelis arrested on suspicion of cooperation with Iranian intelligence news has risen sharply in recent years.
Personally, Iranian Minister of Intelligence Esmail Katib appeared on National Television Sunday and said that “thousands of documents” are a significant understatement compared to those obtained.”
“These documents and other strategic records of the regime will strengthen Iran’s attack capabilities,” Khatib explained, but clarifies that “strategic”, “operational” and “scientific” information were collected through complex operations within the occupied territory. He also said that although the method used to transfer records will not be disclosed, some documents will be made public in the future. Inside the “treasure” of information there are details about Israel’s relationship with Washington and European countries.
Israel’s reaction
Administration officials have not yet published comments on reported penetration. But Israeli media has made sure to not wipe out the issues under the rug.
Some Hebrew media, including Haaretz and The Erusalem Post, elicited similarities between the recent project at the NEGEV Nuclear Research Center last year and the hacking incident. The Tehran Times understands that the two events are irrelevant. Previous cyberattacks allowed access to several documents and erased information from several computer systems.
Other Israeli outlets did not shy away from ringing alarm bells. Calling the event “concern,” the Hebrew Maarib Daily newspaper posted the headline “Concern: Iran stole Israel’s secret nuclear documents.” Maarif reported that Iran’s intelligence agency was “successfully” in obtaining thousands of confidential documents related to Israel’s nuclear facilities and strategic projects, and transporting them to secure a location within Iran. Another Israeli Hebrew Daily Israeli Heyom, citing the Iranian media and the Al Mayaden network, emphasized that the document contains highly sensitive information about Israeli nuclear programmes.
Israel’s second major security obstacle in 20 months
Iran’s latest intelligence news project potentially shows Israel’s second major security obstacle, following the inequality of Palestinian resistance group’s operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7, 2023. In that attack, Palestinian fighters entered territory that the regime declared as a very complicated security system and entered territory from several territories. The events shattered the long-standing image of the regime of “invincible,” a myth that was further damaged by Tehran’s recent success that permeated Israel’s highly protected nuclear sites.
Depending on the information Tehran chose to reveal about Israel’s nuclear program, the newly obtained records could also strengthen Iran’s position in ongoing nuclear negotiations with the United States.