WordBulletin

World Bulletin / News Desk

A senior Iranian lawmaker accused the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog on Sunday of passing confidential information about Iran's nuclear activities to Israel.

On the International Atomic Energy Agency, Javad Jahangirzadeh, a member of parliament's presiding board, said IAEA chief Yukiya Amano would be to blame if Iran reduced its ties with the body.

"Amano's repeated trips to Tel Aviv and asking the Israeli officials' views about Iran's nuclear activities indicates that Iran's nuclear information has been disclosed to the Zionist regime (Israel) and other enemies of the Islamic Republic," Jahangirzadeh was quoted as saying by Iran's English-language Press TV.

"If the agency's actions lead to Iran cutting cooperation with this international body, all responsibility will be with the IAEA director general," said Jahangirzadeh, a member of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee.

The IAEA was not immediately available to comment on his allegation.

Last week, Iranian nuclear energy chief Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani said "terrorists" might have infiltrated the Vienna-based agency. He suggested the IAEA included too much sensitive information about Iran's nuclear programme in its reports that he said could be used by saboteurs.

Iran blames Israel and its Western allies for the assassination of nuclear scientists in Iran, including an unsuccessful attempt on Abbasi-Davani in November 2010. It also blames those countries for computer viruses that appeared designed to damage its nuclear machinery.

The resolution prompted Iran's Parliament Speaker, Ali Larijani, to cast doubt on the benefit of Iran's membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Tehran Times reported.

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, told a news conference last week that Tehran would withdraw from the NPT if attacked by Israel which has increased hints it may launch air strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.

Iran's parliament does not decide matters of foreign policy and national security, which are the province of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.