A senior official said three states have been involved in the leak of confidential information to media about Iran's long-term nuclear program, which prompted a strong protest from Tehran.
"Our assumption is that three countries had a role in leaking this data and we have also lodged a protest over the issue," Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on state television on Saturday.
Earlier this month, AP, citing a document, said Iran's scaling back of its nuclear program under last year's agreement with major powers "will start to ease years before the 15-year accord expires."
Iran held the International Atomic Energy Agency responsible for the leak, saying it had asked the agency to keep the data confidential. The IAEA, however, denied disclosing the confidential data.
Kamalvandi said Tehran is "not afraid of" the disclosure of the entire documents, stressing that they were not supposed to be available to international media "so quickly".
The official said Iran's Supreme National Security Council is in possession of the document on Tehran-IAEA cooperation, which is "highly confidential", while relevant authorities are also aware of the content.
No Harm to Security
Iranian "lawmakers will be provided with the document if the SNSC deems it necessary", Kamalvandi said, assuring that even the disclosure of the entire information "cannot harm our security and nuclear activities."
Kamalvandi accused Washington of having a hand in the leak, saying such actions are "politically motivated" amid heated election campaigns in the US. The IAEA has protocols to protect confidential data, but the agency is "under the influence of political powers like the [United Nations] Security Council", he added.
Kamalvandi noted that Israel is under fire by members of the IAEA Board of Governors over its nuclear work, but the regime refuses to publicly declare the number of its nuclear warheads, which is estimated to stand between 200 and 400.
On January 16, Iran and the six major powers (the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, plus Germany) started implementing the nuclear deal they reached on July 14, 2015.
Under the nuclear agreement, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program and provide enhanced access to international atomic monitors in return for the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
