Iran says it has acquired a "treasure trove” of information about Israel’s atomic weapons – as it faces pressure over its own nuclear activities.
Iran's Minister of Intelligence Esmail Khatib said his department has "an important treasury of strategic, operational and scientific intelligence" belonging to Israel, which he said was "transferred into the country with God's help”.
Israel is widely assumed to possess atomic weapons but maintains a policy of "nuclear ambiguity" by neither confirming nor denying their existence. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks nuclear stockpiles, estimates that Israel has 90 warheads.
Mr Khatib claimed that thousands of pages of documents had been obtained and said they would be made public soon. Among them are documents related to the United States, Europe and other countries, he said, obtained through “infiltration” and “access to the sources”. He did not elaborate on the methods used.
"The transfer of this treasure trove was time-consuming and required security measures. Naturally, the transfer methods will remain confidential but the documents should be unveiled soon," Mr Khatib said on Sunday.
Israel has similarly targeted Iran before. In 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said agents had seized a huge "archive" of Iranian documents that showed Tehran had done more nuclear work than previously known.
Nuclear talks
The development comes as US President Donald Trump threatens military action against Iran if it does not come to an agreement over its nuclear programme. However, Mr Trump in April reportedly blocked a planned Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites in favour of negotiating a deal.
Iran and the US have had five rounds of talks across Europe and Oman over the deal but have so far failed to come to an agreement. European powers are expected to push for a resolution condemning Iran's behaviour at a meeting this week of the UN's atomic watchdog, the IAEA.
The talks, mediated by Oman, aim to replace the 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers that set restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, before Mr Trump abandoned the accord in 2018, during his first term. Mr Trump has insisted that Iran must fully abandon its uranium enrichment programme, which has been at the centre of the decades-long dispute between the two sides.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week that abandoning uranium enrichment was "100 per cent" against Tehran's interests. Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that "the US plan does not even mention the lifting of sanctions".
He called it a sign of dishonesty, accusing the Americans of seeking to impose a "unilateral" agreement that Tehran would not accept. "The delusional US President should know better and change his approach if he is really looking for a deal," Mr Ghalibaf said.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The biog
Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly
Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo
Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.
Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,
She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
