Iran Monitors Need Time to Assess Stolen Israeli Nuclear Cache

(Bloomberg) -- International nuclear monitors say they aren’t rushing to investigate information about past Iranian activities that Israel claims to have stolen and smuggled out of the country.

Inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna first need to verify the authenticity of the data relating to Iran, Director General Yukiya Amano said Thursday at a press conference. The Iranian government continues to limit its nuclear activities in line with its July 2015 deal with world powers, he said.

“We need to analyze the information,” Amano said. “It will take time, of course. With sensitive issues, understanding the whole picture is very important.”

Earlier this year, Israel unveiled an archive of material that it says was removed by its agents from a location in Tehran. The nation’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, wants the IAEA to re-open its probe into Iranian nuclear activities.

The IAEA conducted a 12-year investigation into Iran’s nuclear work, concluding in December 2015 that the country never diverted nuclear material for weapons and ceased military-related activities in 2009.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Tirone in Vienna at jtirone@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Caroline Alexander

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