Israeli leader lobs nuke claim at Iran — again
UNITED NATIONS — 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 Thursday in his campaign to prove that Tehran can’t be trusted and poses a massive threat to international security. In response, Iran shrugged. Netanyahu’s presentation at the U.N. General Assembly — brandishing props and exhibiting his trademark showmanship — marked the latest in a run of revelations or accusations about Iran’s nuclear program, as he ratchets up his campaign against the 2015 global accord that’s meant to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
He challenged U.N. nuclear inspectors to examine a new “secret atomic warehouse” near Tehran — 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 Tehran.
“You have to ask yourself a question: Why did Iran keep a secret atomic archive and a secret atomic warehouse?” he asked. “What Iran hides, Israel will find.”
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.
Iranian state television called the announcement “ridiculous,” and Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Netanyahu’s remarks with barely disguised disdain, saying he “annually launches a ridiculous show at the U.N. General Assembly.”
Netanyahu did not say what the material was, and it was unclear whether his presentation provided any evidence that Iran had violated the 2015 nuclear deal.