IAEA Rejects Claims of 'Confidential' Nuclear Agreement Document Leak with Iran

On Friday, August 8, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a statement rejecting Iranian officials' claims regarding the leak of a 'confidential' document related to the nuclear agreement by the agency. The statement, published on the IAEA's website, noted that the agency received a letter from Iran this week concerning the potential leak of part of the initial declaration of Iran's Additional Protocol. The agency responded to this letter and strongly opposed it, rejecting any statements regarding the leak of part of the initial declaration document by the agency. Following the release of sections of a document related to the nuclear agreement regarding Iran's long-term enrichment program by the Associated Press, Iranian officials announced they would protest the leak of this document. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, stated that Iran's protest letter was delivered to the agency on Tuesday. Kamalvandi also emphasized that the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization's 'perception' is that this document has 'leaked' from the IAEA. He further stated that if the disclosure of confidential information and documents becomes a norm, there are other confidential documents whose release is not technically or security-wise advisable, and thus, they are protesting to the agency for this reason. He added that while the entire document has not been released, parts of it have been published, which is expected to protect the confidential documents of various countries provided to the agency. On Saturday, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, referred to the publication of the 'confidential' nuclear agreement document as a 'breach of promise.' Salehi also mentioned that with the release of this document, the Iranian people would become aware of the accurate and appropriate predictions made for the development of the country's nuclear industry. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, also described the alleged document published by the Associated Press as a source of 'pride,' emphasizing that 'God willing, when the entire document is published, it will become clear where we will reach in 15 years.' The Associated Press reported on Tuesday evening, July 28, that it had obtained a document related to Iran's nuclear agreement, indicating that easing key restrictions on the nuclear program would reduce the time it takes for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. The AP claims that this document is a confidential annex to last year's nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, and according to it, after 11 to 13 years, Iran could replace over five thousand of its 'ineffective centrifuges' with three thousand five hundred more advanced ones. However, Mark Toner, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, reacted to the AP report by stating that there is no secret document or agreement in place, and told the Persian section of Voice of America that 'preventing Iran from accessing nuclear weapons and our ability to monitor its nuclear program and ensure its peaceful nature will remain forever.'