Evidence emerging from a CIA leak case could change the outcome of United Nations� assessments of Iran�s nuclear program, Bloomberg reported Friday.The revelations emerged from�the trial of�Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA agent convicted of�leaking details of�a 2000 plot wherein the agency fed faulty blueprints for�nuclear weapons to�Iran in�an effort to�derail any weapons development efforts.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is the UN agency tasked with�determining whether or not Iran has been pursuing a weapons program, and a judgement that they had not been could mean the lifting of�sanctions against�Iran.
This new information will likely mean a reassessment of�their intelligence reports if evidence for�Iran�s pursuit of�nuclear weapons rested on�planted blueprints supplied by�the CIA, two diplomats told Bloomberg on�condition of�anonymity.
�This story suggests a possibility that hostile intelligence agencies could decide to�plant a �smoking gun� in�Iran for�the IAEA to�find,� Peter Jenkins, the U.K.�s former envoy to�the IAEA told Bloomberg. �That looks like�a big problem.�
Ali Gharib�@Ali_Gharib
CIA�s Nuclear-Bomb Sting Said to Spur Review in Iran Arms Case http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-20/cia-s-nuclear-bomb-sting-said-to-spur-review-in-iran-arms-case��
Ali Gharib�@Ali_Gharib
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1 - CIA plants fake nuke plans in Iranian hands as part of sting 2 - Point at Iran and say, THEIR NUKE PLANS! 3 - ??? http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-20/cia-s-nuclear-bomb-sting-said-to-spur-review-in-iran-arms-case��
10:26 PM - 20 Feb 2015
Tensions at�Nuclear Talks
All of�this comes at�a time when the US and Iran are involved in�pivotal negotiations about�the future of�any Iranian nuclear development. After US-Iran meetings, the talks will expand to�include Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.
As John Kerry heads to�Geneva to�resume talks, and the deadline for�an agreement is just weeks away, all is not going smoothly. A recent IAEA report has said that Iran has not been cooperative in�answering all their questions or allowing access to�all the sites they would like�to inspect.
�[T]he agency is not in�a position to�provide credible assurance about�the absence of�undeclared nuclear material and activities in�Iran, and therefore to�conclude that all nuclear material in�Iran is in�peaceful activities,� the report said of�Iran�s resistance to�certain inquiries.
However, part of�the deadlock in�negotiations has been Iran�s insistence that they have not pursued weapons and that evidence to�that effect has been fabricated�� claims which the CIA plot puts in�a new light, and which the IAEA has apparently decided to�seriously consider.
Whistleblower or Disgruntled Employee?
The plan to�give Iranian scientists flawed nuclear blueprints had serious flaws in�and of�itself, according to�the story that emerged in�the trial of�Jeffrey Sterling, convicted in�January and facing up�to 100 years in�prison for�leaking the details of�the plot.
The CIA spent years coming up�with nuclear plans they hoped, once passed off�as real, would send Iran on�a wild goose chase of�weapons development. However, flaws in�the plans were so easily spotted that the US may have inadvertently given Iran valuable information. This is the story�� which the CIA claims isn�t entirely accurate�� �that Sterling was convicted of �leaking to�New York Times reporter James Risen. The case also garnered a lot of�attention as�Risen refused to�give up�his source, putting himself in�danger of�criminal prosecution as�well.
Prosecutors claimed Sterling leaked the information and twisted the story to�get revenge on�the CIA. Sterling, who is African-American, had been�the first agent�to�bring a racial discrimination lawsuit against�the Agency.
�The defendant put his own selfishness and his own vindictiveness ahead of�the American people,� federal prosecutor Eric G. Olshan told jurors during�the trial�s closing arguments. �For what? He hated the C.I.A., and he wanted to�settle the score.�
By Sputnik News
