DUBAI - 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.
In the latest sign of strained relations with the IAEA, 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 info  has been disclosed to the Zionist regime (Israel) and other enemies of Iran,” Jahangirzadeh was quoted as saying by Iran’s English-language Press TV.
The IAEA was not immediately available to comment. Records show Amano has made only one visit to Israel in his capacity as IAEA chief, in August 2010. He visited Tehran in May this year.
“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, also a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee.
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 program in its reports that he said could be used by saboteurs.
Western diplomats dismissed his allegations as an attempt to distract attention away from the agency’s bid to gain access to a site in Iran it suspects was used for nuclear weapons research, something Tehran denies.