Kamali: The U.S. and Two Other Countries Were Involved in Leaking Confidential Nuclear Information

After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) firmly rejected Iran's claim regarding the leak of confidential information from this organization, Iran accused the U.S. and two other countries of leaking nuclear information. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, provided explanations on Saturday night during the 21:00 news segment on Iranian television regarding the leak of confidential information and the IAEA's response to Iran's protest, stating that 'our perception is that three countries are involved in leaking this information.' The spokesperson explained that 'specifically, the U.S. government, considering its electoral conditions, is carrying out these actions,' but did not name the other two countries. He also added that the leaked confidential document has been provided to the U.S. Congress. Recently, the Associated Press reported in an exclusive report about the existence of a confidential document related to the Iran nuclear agreement, which indicates that between 11 to 13 years after the implementation of the JCPOA, easing key restrictions on the nuclear program would reduce the time for Iran to reach a nuclear weapon. Following the publication of this document, Iranian officials announced they would protest the leak, and the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization stated that 'the perception' of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization is that this document has 'leaked' from the IAEA. However, the IAEA, in a brief statement on Friday, confirmed receipt of Iran's protest but emphasized that it rejects any comments regarding the leak of part of the document of Iran's initial protocol. Now, one day after the IAEA's statement, Mr. Kamalvandi said, 'We protested the leak of parts of the IAEA document, and the IAEA itself has concerns.' He added, 'The fact that part of the information regarding Iran's cooperation with the IAEA has come out, we protested this and need to find a solution in this regard.' This official from the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization also stated that 'even if all the documents of cooperation between Iran and the IAEA were to be leaked, it could not harm our security and nuclear activities,' although he acknowledged that 'such documents should not be made available to international media so quickly.' The Associated Press claimed that the document it obtained 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 more than five thousand 'ineffective centrifuges' with three thousand five hundred more advanced devices. This news agency noted that American officials have stated that the nuclear agreement is structured to ensure that Iran is at least 12 months away from acquiring the uranium needed to produce a nuclear bomb, calculating that such a change could reduce the time required for Iran to obtain a nuclear bomb to six months or less. In response to this report, Mark Toner, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, emphasized that there is no secret document or agreement in place. Mr. Toner 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.' In this context, the IAEA rejected the leak of the 'confidential document' of the nuclear agreement with Iran, stating that the Associated Press report is a sign of efforts by opponents of the JCPOA.