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Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib announced Wednesday the publication of what Tehran claims are classified documents and intelligence about Israel's nuclear program, including sensitive information about key personnel and facilities that Iranian officials say were obtained in June.
Speaking on Iranian state television, Khatib said Iranian intelligence operatives had accessed "secret nuclear, military, intelligence and scientific information" belonging to Israel. The minister claimed that information on 189 nuclear experts and military officials had been obtained, along with details about various projects.
The documentary program showed what it described as copies of passports identifying Israeli scientists and provided information about military site locations. Most notably, it aired footage allegedly filmed inside Israel's Dimona reactor facility in the Negev desert, widely believed by international observers to house the Middle East's only nuclear weapons program, though Israel maintains its longstanding policy of nuclear ambiguity.
Khatib alleged that many individuals working in Israel's sensitive areas had cooperated with Iran in exchange for money. In the documentary, the intelligence minister said Iran had used information obtained in June to hit sensitive sites inside Israel during that same month.
Iranian security sources had previously announced in June that intelligence units had acquired thousands of strategic and sensitive documents related to Israeli nuclear projects and facilities, which were safely brought into the country.
The broadcast also included what it described as personal photographs of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, including one showing him kissing someone in a Minnie Mouse costume. Iranian officials claimed these photos had been obtained by Israel as part of alleged espionage against Grossi.
The documentary's release comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and Western nations over the Islamic republic's nuclear activities. Since Israel's surprise attack on Iran in June, which triggered 12 days of warfare, Iran's leadership has openly criticized the IAEA and its director, accusing them of partial complicity and condemning the agency for failing to denounce strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The West, led by the United States and backed by Israel, accuses Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons—allegations Tehran vehemently denies, maintaining its atomic program serves purely civilian purposes. Israel considers Iran's nuclear program an existential threat to its security.
Iran and Israel have engaged in a shadow war spanning years, characterized by Tehran's arrests of alleged Israeli spies and Israeli accusations of targeted assassinations and sabotage operations against Iranian nuclear infrastructure. The publication of these purported intelligence documents represents the latest escalation in this ongoing covert conflict.
The claims made in the Iranian documentary could not be independently verified by international media organizations.
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