Israel claims Iran harboring ‘secret atomic warehouse’

UNITED NATIONS – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran on Thursday of keeping a “secret atomic warehouse” just outside its capital, despite the 2015 deal with world powers that was meant to keep it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Holding up a map of an area near Tehran before world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu said Iranian officials were keeping tons of nuclear equipment and material in a warehouse near a rug-cleaning operation.

Iranian state media called the announcement “ridiculous” and an “illusion.”

Netanyahu’s disclosure – which he presented as a big reveal on the international community’s biggest stage – came four months after Israel announced the existence of what it said was a “half-ton” of Iranian nuclear documents obtained by Israeli intelligence in the Shourabad neighborhood near Tehran.

Israel said the cache proved that Iranian leaders covered up their nuclear weapons program before signing the nuclear agreement. Iran hasn’t acknowledged the alleged seizure.

In referring to Netanyahu’s statements as “ridiculous,” the Iranian state TV report said the country is committed to nonproliferation and Iran’s nuclear program is under surveillance by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. The website of state TV briefly reported the Netanyahu accusation and called it an “illusion.”

The 2015 Iran nuclear deal came after years of Western sanctions over the country’s contested atomic program. The West has long feared it could be used to build nuclear bombs. Iran has long denied seeking atomic weapons.