*Tel Aviv:* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday thatIran had lied about never having pursued nuclear weapons and had continuedto preserve and expand its nuclear weapons knowledge even after signing a2015 deal with global powers.

“Iran’s leaders repeatedly deny ever pursuing nuclear weapons,” saidNetanyahu during a prime-time televised address carried by Israelinetworks. “Tonight I’m here to tell you one thing: Iran lied.”

The Israeli leader spoke in English and showed pictures and videospurporting to be of historic secret Iranian nuclear facilities, as well asIranian documents and plans to develop atomic weapons.

While the lion’s share of the briefing focused on what he said was pastnuclear work and alleged obfuscation about it by Iran, Netanyahu assertedthat such activities had continued after the 2015 deal that was meant tocurb Iranian capabilities.

“After signing the nuclear deal in 2015, Iran intensified its efforts tohide its secret files,” he said. “In 2017 Iran moved its nuclear weaponsfiles to a highly secret location in Tehran.”

Netanyahu referred to a secret Iranian nuclear project, codenamed “Amad”,which he said had been shelved in 2003, but he said work in the field hadcontinued. – Agencies