Al Jazeera says one of hundreds of intelligence documents it has obtained shows that Mossad assessment of Iranian nuclear threat differed with Netanyahu's statements on the issue.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUASatellite images of Iranian nuclear facility (file)(photo credit: REUTERS)
A new leak of secret intelligence documents obtained by Al Jazeera shows that the Mossad expressed the belief that Tehran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon just a month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Islamic Republic was a year away from becoming nuclear-armed.The Qatari television network, in collaboration with Britain's Guardian will be publishing "The Spy Cables" in the coming days.The documents, spanning the period of 2006-2014, were written by members of South Africa's State Security Agency (SSA). The documents, according to Al Jazeera, highlight the SSA's dealings with the intelligence services of its allies, including the Mossad and the CIA.The documents also purportedly discuss CIA efforts to maintain contacts with Hamas, despite the group's designation as a terror organization by the US government.The network did not give further details on the document detailing the Mossad's view on Iran's nuclear aspirations. To whom the Mossad made the comments and when the view was voiced were not included in the network's initial report.Meir Dagan, the Mossad chief from 2002 until 2011, has often voiced a differing opinion from that of Netanyahu on how to deal with the Iranian nuclear issue, and how close Iran may be to the bomb.Before leaving office in January 2011, Dagan broke away from earlier predictions and said that in his view, Iran would obtain a nuclear weapon only in 2015.
