Report says Iran covered up a sabotage of a nuclear site by Israel

Shafaq News/ The Islamic Republic of Iran has reportedly covered up an alleged Israeli sabotage operation on a secret atomic weapons workshop in Tehran’s Shadabad neighborhood that was set ablaze in 2020.

The anti-regime Iran International news organization made those revelations public on Sunday via a trove of documents it recently obtained from a hacker group.

The incident appears to have taken place in July 2020 by a group of nine individuals. The apparent ringleader, Masoud Rahimi, was said to be contracted by an anonymous individual claiming to seek revenge against the owner of the nondescript workshop. He offered $10,000 plus a bonus if Rahimi would set it ablaze, destroy property, and film the event.

Unbeknownst to the perpetrators, they were targeting one of Iran's undeclared nuclear sites. All nine members of the group were arrested later that same month, and the incident reached the very highest levels of government.

Iran International reported that “according to judicial documents, the Islamic Republic considers the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, as the main perpetrator of this sabotage operation.”

The dissident Iranian publication noted that the nine defendants were charged with "confrontation with the Islamic government," "sabotage," "destruction of one of the Atomic Energy Organization's devices," "acts against national security through cooperation with Israel," and "possession of firearms and drugs."

Iran International quoted a former representative of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who is well versed in Iran's nuclear program, as saying: "I am familiar with almost all the nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic and have often seen these centers up close, but I have never heard of such facilities in the Shadabad area. Considering that the Ministry of Intelligence and the judiciary believe this incident was the work of Israel, we are definitely talking about an important workshop."

The destruction of the nuclear workshop was a pressing priority for the regime's top leadership. According to the Iran International report, “This arson quickly became one of the most significant national security issues in Iran, with reports reaching Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.

The arrested suspects “were unaware” that they torched a secret workshop. Cellmates of some of the suspects told Iran International the arsonists were deceived and did not know about the nature of the work at the warehouse.

According to one judicial document, Ali Qanatkar, the chief investigator of the first branch of the Sacred Court, wrote to the Tehran prosecutor that "The head of the CIA and the National Security Advisor of America said that unemployed, addicted, and socially maladjusted individuals are suitable capacities for operational activities in the country (Iran)."

Iran International said it “conducted an investigative report based on dozens of documents from the judiciary and the Ministry of Intelligence provided by Ali’s Justice, a network of hacktivists that have revealed troves of Iranian government documents in recent years. Some of the referenced documents are among millions of judicial records that the group announced they had obtained on March 21, 2024.”

The revelation that Iran did not report the workshop to the IAEA comes at a sensitive time for Israel and Western nations committed to stopping Tehran’s ambitions to build a nuclear weapons device. The IAEA concluded a meeting earlier this month without passing a resolution against the Islamic Republic for advanced work on its atomic program and its refusal to cooperate with the IAEA.

The IAEA told Iran International that the Agency has no "information about this location" with respect to Shadabad.