Israeli cabinet confused by contradictory information about Iran's nuclear programme

Israel’s various intelligence services have conflicting and contradictory details about Iran’s nuclear programme, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said this week. This has led to some confusion in the country’s security cabinet.

The cabinet heard details of Tehran’s nuclear development from officers belonging to Mossad and Shabak as well as representatives of military intelligence. According to one anonymous official, “We heard detailed, disturbing and very troubling information regarding the progress of Iran’s nuclear programme.” The Iranians, claims the official, “are holding their own” in the face of international sanctions while still pursuing their nuclear agenda.

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The Cabinet meeting was a scheduled annual discussion of the intelligence audit. There was a lot of time given to the matter of Iran, but no vote on any operational plans. A decision to attack Iran was not on the table, the official added, because this requires the approval of the security cabinet by law.

When told about these leaks to the media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a cabinet meeting, saying that someone in the forum had betrayed the national trust by leaking details of its top-secret discussions on Iran.

“I have a responsibility toward the citizens of Israel and the security of the state, and therefore I am breaking up this meeting,” Netanyahu said. “The security of the state and of its citizens depends on the ability to have confidential and in-depth discussions in the security cabinet… someone severely damaged the trust that Israeli citizens put in this forum,” the PM told his colleagues.