SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
At the U.N. September 27, 2012, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a graphic to show how far he says Iran will be by mid-2013 in a quest to develop nuclear weapons. He drew the red line to mark where he says Iran must be stopped. (Lucas Jackson /Reuters /Landov)
Israel Implicated in Leaking Misleading Info on Iran Nuke
Faulty graph, now debunked, came from likely source
Dec 10, 2012
A largely misleading and vastly exaggerated "exclusive" "leak" published by the Associated Press last week, which boasted that the news agency had obtained information proving that Iran was working on a nuclear bomb, and was quickly debunked by the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald and several others, was likely given to AP by Israeli officials, the Guardian reports Monday.
"Western diplomats" told the Guardian they believe Israel leaked the slipshod documents to AP, which included a "graph" that was as Greenwald wrote, "only slightly less hilariously primitive than the one Benjamin Netanyahu infamously touted with a straight face at the UN," from an incomplete and inaccurate excerpt of an ongoing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation in Iran in a "bid to raise global pressure on Tehran."
On the graph, Greenwald wrote:
...even if one assumes that this graph is something other than a fraud, the very idea that computer simulations constitute "evidence" that Iran is working toward a nuclear weapon is self-evidently inane. As John Glaser extensively documents, "experts from across the spectrum have agreed with the military and intelligence consensus [from the US and Israel] that Iran has no nuclear weapons program and presents no imminent threat." Buried in the AP article is a quote from David Albright explaining that though "the diagram looks genuine [it] seems to be designed more 'to understand the process' than as part of a blueprint for an actual weapon in the making."
Nonetheless, AP ran with the story, all the while granting anonymity to the source's country who leaked the faulty information--as doing so would have revealed ulterior motives.
"The Israeli government did not reply to a request for comment and AP described the source of the latest leak only as 'officials from a country critical of Iran's atomic program,'" the Guardian reports.
One western diplomat told the Guardian that the leaked "intelligence summary" in question "reads like an attempt to justify the assassinations"--in reference to a series of assassinations targeting Iranian nuclear scientists and commonly tied to Israel's Mossad.
The Guardian has more:
The latest leak, published by the Associated Press (AP), purported to be an Iranian diagram showing the physics of a nuclear blast, but scientists quickly pointed out an elementary mistake that cast doubt on its significance and authenticity. An article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists declared: "This diagram does nothing more than indicate either slipshod analysis or an amateurish hoax." [...]
Western officials say they have reasons to suspect Israel of being behind the most recent leak and a series of previous disclosures from the IAEA investigation, pointing to Israel's impatience at what it sees as international complacency over Iranian nuclear activity. [...]
Iran rejects the evidence against it as forged and has not granted access to its nuclear scientists or to a site known as Parchin where IAEA inspectors believe the high-explosive components for a nuclear warhead may have been tested.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
A largely misleading and vastly exaggerated "exclusive" "leak" published by the Associated Press last week, which boasted that the news agency had obtained information proving that Iran was working on a nuclear bomb, and was quickly debunked by the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald and several others, was likely given to AP by Israeli officials, the Guardian reports Monday.
"Western diplomats" told the Guardian they believe Israel leaked the slipshod documents to AP, which included a "graph" that was as Greenwald wrote, "only slightly less hilariously primitive than the one Benjamin Netanyahu infamously touted with a straight face at the UN," from an incomplete and inaccurate excerpt of an ongoing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation in Iran in a "bid to raise global pressure on Tehran."
On the graph, Greenwald wrote:
...even if one assumes that this graph is something other than a fraud, the very idea that computer simulations constitute "evidence" that Iran is working toward a nuclear weapon is self-evidently inane. As John Glaser extensively documents, "experts from across the spectrum have agreed with the military and intelligence consensus [from the US and Israel] that Iran has no nuclear weapons program and presents no imminent threat." Buried in the AP article is a quote from David Albright explaining that though "the diagram looks genuine [it] seems to be designed more 'to understand the process' than as part of a blueprint for an actual weapon in the making."
Nonetheless, AP ran with the story, all the while granting anonymity to the source's country who leaked the faulty information--as doing so would have revealed ulterior motives.
"The Israeli government did not reply to a request for comment and AP described the source of the latest leak only as 'officials from a country critical of Iran's atomic program,'" the Guardian reports.
One western diplomat told the Guardian that the leaked "intelligence summary" in question "reads like an attempt to justify the assassinations"--in reference to a series of assassinations targeting Iranian nuclear scientists and commonly tied to Israel's Mossad.
The Guardian has more:
The latest leak, published by the Associated Press (AP), purported to be an Iranian diagram showing the physics of a nuclear blast, but scientists quickly pointed out an elementary mistake that cast doubt on its significance and authenticity. An article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists declared: "This diagram does nothing more than indicate either slipshod analysis or an amateurish hoax." [...]
Western officials say they have reasons to suspect Israel of being behind the most recent leak and a series of previous disclosures from the IAEA investigation, pointing to Israel's impatience at what it sees as international complacency over Iranian nuclear activity. [...]
Iran rejects the evidence against it as forged and has not granted access to its nuclear scientists or to a site known as Parchin where IAEA inspectors believe the high-explosive components for a nuclear warhead may have been tested.
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
A largely misleading and vastly exaggerated "exclusive" "leak" published by the Associated Press last week, which boasted that the news agency had obtained information proving that Iran was working on a nuclear bomb, and was quickly debunked by the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald and several others, was likely given to AP by Israeli officials, the Guardian reports Monday.
"Western diplomats" told the Guardian they believe Israel leaked the slipshod documents to AP, which included a "graph" that was as Greenwald wrote, "only slightly less hilariously primitive than the one Benjamin Netanyahu infamously touted with a straight face at the UN," from an incomplete and inaccurate excerpt of an ongoing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation in Iran in a "bid to raise global pressure on Tehran."
On the graph, Greenwald wrote:
...even if one assumes that this graph is something other than a fraud, the very idea that computer simulations constitute "evidence" that Iran is working toward a nuclear weapon is self-evidently inane. As John Glaser extensively documents, "experts from across the spectrum have agreed with the military and intelligence consensus [from the US and Israel] that Iran has no nuclear weapons program and presents no imminent threat." Buried in the AP article is a quote from David Albright explaining that though "the diagram looks genuine [it] seems to be designed more 'to understand the process' than as part of a blueprint for an actual weapon in the making."
Nonetheless, AP ran with the story, all the while granting anonymity to the source's country who leaked the faulty information--as doing so would have revealed ulterior motives.
"The Israeli government did not reply to a request for comment and AP described the source of the latest leak only as 'officials from a country critical of Iran's atomic program,'" the Guardian reports.
One western diplomat told the Guardian that the leaked "intelligence summary" in question "reads like an attempt to justify the assassinations"--in reference to a series of assassinations targeting Iranian nuclear scientists and commonly tied to Israel's Mossad.
The Guardian has more:
The latest leak, published by the Associated Press (AP), purported to be an Iranian diagram showing the physics of a nuclear blast, but scientists quickly pointed out an elementary mistake that cast doubt on its significance and authenticity. An article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists declared: "This diagram does nothing more than indicate either slipshod analysis or an amateurish hoax." [...]
Western officials say they have reasons to suspect Israel of being behind the most recent leak and a series of previous disclosures from the IAEA investigation, pointing to Israel's impatience at what it sees as international complacency over Iranian nuclear activity. [...]
Iran rejects the evidence against it as forged and has not granted access to its nuclear scientists or to a site known as Parchin where IAEA inspectors believe the high-explosive components for a nuclear warhead may have been tested.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.