Eye Spy - May 2018

(Tuis.) #1

EYE SPY INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE 115 2018 51


said: “I’ve seen no
evidence that they
are not in compli-
ance today.” The
International Atomic
Energy Agency
(IAEA) said
Netanyahu’s
announcement was
“old news.” And many countries, despite the

Israeli presentation and intelligence deception,
appear committed to the Iran nuclear deal.

Despite the political jargon, manoeuvres and
interjection by commentators and politicians
who are obviously uninformed about just what
the Mossad has collected (and delivered
covertly to its intelligence counterparts in
America, Britain and elsewhere), some of the
evidence against Iran is compelling.

ccording to Natanyahu, his
spy agencies sourced a
cache of Iranian nuclear
documents weighing “half a
tonne.” At the press briefing he
revealed the location of the files -
in a “dilapidated warehouse” in
the Shorabad district of Tehran.
“This is where they kept the
atomic archives... right here,” said
Natanyahu. “Very few Iranians
knew about it. From the outside
this was an innocent looking
building. But inside it contained
Iran’s secret atomic archives
locked in massive files.”

It’s since transpired that the
Mossad placed agents in and
around the building. This, the spy
agency learned from its own
agents inside Iran’s nuclear
industry, was used as the holding
point for nuclear documentation
secreted away before IAEA
inspectors could gain access to it
at known and declared sites. The
suggestion therefore being, that it
was simply too volatile and
revealing, and may have sent
alarm bells ringing in the IAEA,
thus derailing the nuclear deal.

In February 2016, a surveillance
operation was initiated around the
warehouse. Details of the building,

security, access and exit doors
and other useful intelligence was
gleaned. At the same time
planners began discussing how
they would enter the building and
recover the material. Other tactics
such as creating a diversion were
also carefully researched.

A year later in early 2017, a daring
night-time operation was launched
to gain access to the building -
sanctioned and overseen by
Mossad Director Yossi Cohen. No
details were given about how the
agents gained access, but they
broke into “long rows of safes.”
Some 55,000 pages of printed
material was stolen along with
183 CDs - also containing around
55,000 pages of documentation.
These were displayed at the prime
minister’s press conference.

The operation was performed in a
single night and by daybreak
sensitive, classified and top secret
information on Iran’s nuclear
programme, past, current and
future ambitions, char ts, photo-
graphs, blueprints, video and the
agencies and scientists involved
was in the hands of the Mossad’s
analysts.

And it is this material that is
central to Israel’s new claims.
Some intelligence people and
officials in the West who are still
suppor tive of the current deal with
Iran, asked why it had taken over
a year for Israel to reveal its
findings. Eye Spy Tel Aviv sources
said it was because most of the
secured pages were all written in
Persian. Once translated, “a
massive task in itself,” the
information then had to be
assessed and analysed by
scientists, before being re-routed
to intelligence analysts.

In January 2018, Cohen travelled
to Washington and discussed the
operation with President Trump
personally. He brought with him
the material which was duly
handed to the CIA, Pentagon and
Depar tment of Defense. This is
why the US seems more informed
about Iran’s nuclear deceit than
other nations.

“Only Iran’s leadership knows what else they’re
hiding, but the revelations by Israel don’t give
us much confidence in their protestations that
they have never had interest in militarising their
nuclear programme,” Mike Pompeo said.
“They’re showing us in Syria how they plan to
deploy their existing arsenal - we would be
foolish to think that behaviour is going to
change because of a deal that was imple-
mented two years ago and was based on a lie.”

Federica Mogherini

THE WAREHOUSETHE WAREHOUSE


SPECIAL ACTIVITIES COVERT AND OVERT


A


PROJECT


GOING UNDERGROUND

Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani,
Secretary of the Supreme
Council of Iran. He was Iran’s
Minister of Defence during
Project Amad. In 2003 he said
the project was to close, but one
recovered document by the
Mossad in January 2017, quotes
him saying the endeavour would
continue in two parts - covert
and overt. A note read: ‘The
general aim is to announce the
closure of Project Amad...
special activities will be carried
out under the title of scientific
know how developments
(SPND - MOD)’. The ‘covert’ el-
ement was, and still is reportedly
headed by Dr Mohsen
Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi.

Rear Admiral
Ali Shamkhani

AMAD


Dr Fakhrizadeh

Benjamin Netanyahu
and Mossad Director
Yossi Cohen

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