Israel’s intelligence service Mossad agrees with U.S. assessments of
Iran’s nuclear ambitions, even though Israeli leaders have talked about
Tehran’s plans to acquire nuclear weapons, The New York Times reported
late Saturday.
“Their people ask very hard questions, but Mossad does not disagree with
the U.S. on the weapons program,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed
former senior U.S. intelligence official as saying.
“There is not a lot of dispute between the U.S. and Israeli intelligence communities on the facts,” the former official said.
The Times reported last month
that U.S. intelligence analysts continue to believe there was no hard
evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb.
The latest assessments by U.S. spy agencies are broadly consistent with a
2007 intelligence finding that concluded that Iran had abandoned its
nuclear weapons program, the paper said in that report.
According to Saturday’s report, U.S. spy agencies have spent years
trying to track Iranian efforts to enrich uranium and develop missile
technology, and they are watching for any move toward weaponization.
While the National Security Agency eavesdrops on telephone conversations
of Iranian officials and conducts other forms of electronic
surveillance, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency analyzes radar
imagery and digital images of nuclear sites, the paper noted.
Outside analysts believe high-tech drones prowl over secret Iranian installations, The Times pointed out.
Meanwhile, clandestine ground sensors, which can detect electromagnetic
signals or radioactive emissions that could be linked to covert nuclear
activity, are placed near suspect Iranian facilities, according to the
report.
The United States also relies heavily on information gathered by
inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency who visit some of
Iran’s nuclear-related facilities, The Times said.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/18/201371.html