* Accuses nuclear agency Amano of disclosing too much
* IAEA wants to investigate suspected atom bomb research
* Israel has increased hints of air strikes on Iran
DUBAI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A senior Iranian lawmaker accused
the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog on Sunday of
passing confidential information about Iran's nuclear activities
to Israel.
In the latest sign of strained relations with the
International Atomic Energy Agency, Javad Jahangirzadeh, a
member of parliament's presiding board, said IAEA chief Yukiya
Amano would be to blame if Iran reduced its ties with the body.
"Amano's repeated trips to Tel Aviv and asking the Israeli
officials' views about Iran's nuclear activities indicates that
Iran's nuclear information has been disclosed to the Zionist
regime (Israel) and other enemies of the Islamic Republic,"
Jahangirzadeh was quoted as saying by Iran's English-language
Press TV.
"If the agency's actions lead to Iran cutting cooperation
with this international body, all responsibility will be with
the IAEA director general," said Jahangirzadeh, a member of
parliament's national security and foreign policy committee.
The IAEA was not immediately available to comment on his
allegation.
Last week, Iranian nuclear energy chief Fereydoun
Abbasi-Davani said "terrorists" might have infiltrated the
Vienna-based agency. He suggested the IAEA included too much
sensitive information about Iran's nuclear programme in its
reports that he said could be used by saboteurs.
Western diplomats dismissed his allegations as an attempt to
distract attention away from the agency's bid to gain access to
a site in Iran it suspects was used for nuclear weapons
research, something Tehran denies.
Iran blames Israel and its Western allies for the
assassination of nuclear scientists in Iran, including an
unsuccessful attempt on Abbasi-Davani in November 2010. It also
blames those countries for computer viruses that appeared
designed to damage its nuclear machinery.
The 35-nation board of the agency censured Iran earlier this
month for defying international demands to curb uranium
enrichment and failing to address mounting disquiet about its
suspected research into atomic bombs.
The resolution prompted Iran's Parliament Speaker, Ali
Larijani, to cast doubt on the benefit of Iran's membership in
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Tehran Times
reported.
The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali
Jafari, told a news conference last week that Tehran would
withdraw from the NPT if attacked by Israel which has increased
hints it may launch air strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.
Iran's parliament does not decide matters of foreign policy
and national security, which are the province of Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
(Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati, additional reporting by Fredrik
Dahl in Vienna; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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