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Iran holds ‘secret atomic warehouse’, alleges Israel

On Thursday, he told the UN General Assembly that he has proof that Iran holds a “secret atomic warehouse” and urged international action against Tehran.

Iran holds ‘secret atomic warehouse’, alleges Israel

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: IANS)

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

On Thursday, he told the UN General Assembly that he has proof that Iran holds a “secret atomic warehouse” and urged international action against Tehran.

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During his vehement speech at the UN conference, Netanyahu presented what he said was an aerial photo of a previously unknown nuclear facility in Iran’s capital Tehran, saying the 2015 nuclear deal enabled Iran to continue its attempts to build nuclear weapons, Xinhua reported.

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“The reason Iran did not destroy its atomic facility and warehouse is because it has not finished with them,” Netanyahu noted.

“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.”

The Israeli prime minister also urged Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to check the suspected nuclear site.

“Do the right thing. Go and inspect. Go and investigate,” he said.

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

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 of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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

Under terms of the deal, Iran is allowed to keep documents and other research. The deal strictly limits how many centrifuges Iran can use and how large of a low-enriched uranium stockpile the country can keep.

US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear deal in May, and his administration has been re-imposing sanctions on Iran. Israel applauded Trump’s decision, but many other nations lamented it as jeopardizing what they saw as the best chance for keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed power.

(with inputs from agencies)

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