A secret Israeli intelligence unit "broke a sophisticated Iranian code" enabling Israel to "monitor communications", including "contacts with Pakistan" regarding the development of Iranian nuclear weapons, according to the New Yorker Tuesday.
Seymour M. Hersh wrote in the article that, "On a trip to the Middle East last month, I was told that a number of years ago the Israeli signals-intelligence agency, known as Unit 8200, broke a sophisticated Iranian code."
According to the report, Israeli intelligence has established "many covert contacts" inside the Islamic Republic, emerging from the strong relations it had there before the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 - some of which exist till today.
The New Yorker added that the investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency into Iranian nuclear capability was spurred by Israeli intelligence so-called "findings" which were relayed to the nuclear watchdog.
In addition, the report said, the "findings" were also shared with US intelligence services, showing that high-ranking officials in Tehran and Islamabad held "frequent conversations" regarding the IAEA investigations and implications.
"The interpretation is the issue here," a former official is quoted as saying in the report.
"If you set the buzzwords aside, the substance is that the Iranians were saying, 'We've got to play with the IAEA. We don't want to blow our cover, but we have to show some movement. There's no way we're going against world public opinion - no way. We've got to show that we're cooperating and get the Europeans on our side.'"
The investigative reporter added he met with a senior Israeli intelligence officer in Tel Aviv who has access to the "secret Iran-Pakistan contacts" and was told that Israel remains convinced that "the Iranians do not intend to give up the bomb. What Iran did was report to the IAEA the information that was already out in the open and which they cannot protect. There is much that is not exposed."
Israeli intelligence, the officer added, continues to "see digging and other nuclear-related underground activity" in Iran, the American newspaper added. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
