DUBAI (Reuters) -Iranian intelligence agencies have obtained a large trove of sensitive Israeli documents, some related to the nuclear plans and facilities of Tehran’s arch enemy, Iran’s state media reported on Saturday.
There was no immediate official comment from Israel and it was not clear whether the report was linked to a reported hacking of an Israeli nuclear research centre last year that Tehran is choosing to divulge now amid heightened tensions over its nuclear programme.
“Although the operation to obtain the documents was carried out some time ago, the sheer volume of materials and the need to transport them safely into Iran necessitated a news blackout to ensure they reached the designated protected locations,” state-run PressTV reported, quoting unnamed sources.
“(Sources familiar with the matter) also noted that the abundance of documents is so vast that reviewing them, along with viewing images and videos, has consumed a significant amount of time,” PressTV added, without giving details of the documents.
In 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli agents had seized a huge “archive” of Iranian documents showing Tehran had done more nuclear work than previously known.
U.S President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with bombing if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear programme. But Trump in April reportedly blocked a planned Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites in favour of negotiating a deal with Tehran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that abandoning uranium enrichment was “100%” against the country’s interests, rejecting a central U.S. demand in talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Additional reporting by Emily Rose in Jerusalem; Editing by Louise Heavens)
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