JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televisedaddress Monday he had new “proof” of an Iranian nuclear weapons plan thatcould be activated at any time, as the US considers whether to pull out ofthe atomic accord with Tehran.
But while Netanyahu accused Israel’s main enemy Iran of lying about itsnuclear ambitions, he did not provide evidence that it had actively workedto obtain an atomic weapon since the 2015 agreement between Tehran and sixworld powers.
Iran has always denied it sought a nuclear weapon, insisting its atomicprogramme was for civilian purposes.
Netanyahu made the comments in an elaborate presentation that includedprops, video and slides, broadcast live on television from Tel Aviv.
He said Israel had obtained tens of thousands of files “a few weeks ago ina great intelligence achievement,” saying they had been moved to a secretcompound in Tehran in 2017 that looked dilapidated from the outside.
The material obtained weighed a half a tonne, he said.
As he spoke, binders that he said held copies of original documents were onshelves behind him, as were cases containing CDs.
“Tonight we’re going to reveal new and conclusive proof of the secretnuclear weapons programme that Iran has been hiding for years from theinternational community in its secret atomic archive,” Netanyahu said.
“We’re going to show you Iran’s secret nuclear files.”
He then laid out what he said was a years-old secret nuclear weaponsprogramme stored away and which could be put into action at any time.
The details have been shared with the United States and will also be givento other countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency, he said.
After Netanyahu’s statement was announced but before he spoke, IranianForeign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif already dismissed it.
“The boy who can’t stop crying wolf is at it again,” he wrote on Twitter.”You can only fool some of the people so many times.”
– ‘Dominate the Middle East’ –
US President Donald Trump has a May 12 deadline to decide on whether or notto walk away from the nuclear deal, which he has derided as “insane” partlybecause its restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities begin expiring in2025.
Most world powers however say the nuclear deal is working as intended fornow and is the best way to keep Iran from acquiring the bomb.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germanyleft Washington last week after talks with Trump which failed to secure anypromise to keep the deal alive.
The Israeli premier has repeatedly called for the accord — which Iransigned with Britain, France, China, Russia, the United States and Germany– to either be altered or scrapped.
He says the agreement does not prevent Tehran from eventually obtainingnuclear weapons and says the lifting of sanctions has increased Tehran’sability to finance proxy militants in the Middle East.
Netanyahu also wants to see curbs on Iran’s missile programme.
On Monday, he said the nuclear deal was “based on Iranian lies and Iraniandeception.”
“Even after the deal, Iran continued to preserve and expand its nuclearweapons know-how for future use,” Netanyahu said.
His presentation came after he met visiting US Secretary of State MikePompeo on Sunday and spoke with Trump by phone on Saturday.
Pompeo reiterated during the visit that Trump will withdraw from thenuclear deal “if we can’t fix it”.
Trump and his Middle East allies argue the deal, approved by Barack Obama,was too weak and needs to be replaced with a more permanent arrangement andsupplemented by controls on Iran’s missile programme.
Pompeo, a former CIA chief and congressman, also joined Netanyahu inlashing out at Iran on Sunday.
“Iran’s ambition to dominate the Middle East remains,” Pompeo said.
Rob Malley, a former official in Obama’s administration, said on Twitterthat “for those who have followed the Iranian nuclear file, there isnothing new in (Netanyahu’s) presentation”.
“All it does is vindicate need for the nuclear deal. But the Israeli primeminister has an audience of one: Trump. And he’s unfortunately unlikely toreach the same conclusion.”
Israel is considered the Middle East’s sole nuclear-armed nation, though ithas never acknowledged the capability. – APP/AFP