JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of hiding information about Iran’s military nuclear program.
The ministry made the accusation Sunday in response to a report about the agency’s investigation of Iran, which was submitted Friday by IAEA Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei.
"It is a harsh report, and yet it does not reflect all the information known to the IAEA regarding Iran’s efforts to continue to pursue its military program, its ongoing attempts at concealment and deception, and its lack of cooperation with the IAEA and the demands of the international community," the Israeli Foreign Ministry statement said. The report is one of the last to be submitted by ElBaradei before he steps down from his post.
The ministry called Iran’s decision to allow the IAEA to increase its supervision of its uranium enrichment facility at Natanz to be "merely throwing sand in the eyes of the international community, concealing more than it is exposing," because the Islamic Republic does not allow surprise visits to that site and to others. "Israel expects the international community to take substantive and prompt steps to halt Iran’s military nuclear program."
The report was released ahead of the International Atomic Energy Commission’s annual convention in Vienna on Sept. 7, and a special high-level meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss nuclear proliferation, as well as next month’s U.N. General Assembly.
