Netanyahu lobs nuclear accusation against Iran yet again

NEW YORK: Clandestine nuclear dumping. Concealing atomic material near a rug-cleaning plant. Lying to international partners.

Accusing Iran of all of the above, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu fired a new salvo on Thursday to prove that Teheran can’t be trusted and poses a massive threat to international security.

In response, Iran shrugged.

Netanyahu’s presentation at the UN General Assembly – brandishing props and exhibiting his trademark showmanship – marked the latest in a run of revelations or accusations about Iran’s nuclear programme, as he ratchets up his campaign against the 2015 global accord that’s meant to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

He challenged UN nuclear inspec- tors to examine a new “secret atomic warehouse” near Teheran – but it’s unclear whether the announcement sheds new light on what inspectors already knew, or proves that Iran is violating the 2015 deal.

The warehouse announcement showcased Netanyahu’s unyielding views on Iran and anger at Europeans he accuses of appeasing Israel’s enemies.

Showing a map and photo of the site on oversize boards, he said Iran concealed “massive amounts of equipment and material” in a facility near a rug-cleaning plant in the Turquzabad district. He said Iranian officials cleared out some radioactive material in recent weeks and secretly released it around Teheran.

“You have to ask yourself: Why did Iran keep a secret atomic archive and warehouse?” he asked.

He said Israel shared the information with the United Nations’ atomic watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, and urged the IAEA to inspect the site. He suggested the agency wasn’t doing enough to press Iran on Israeli revelations, appearing to cast doubts on the agency’s credibility.