WASHINGTON - The White House said on Tuesday that the landmark Iran nuclear deal was made on “false pretense” in 2015, while the United Nations nuclear watchdog stuck to its former claim that no evidence has been found related to Tehran’s nuclear development.
“Iran’s nuclear capability were far more advanced and far further along than they ever indicated,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders at a daily briefing.
“The deal that was made was made on things that weren’t accurate. And we have a big problem with that,” Sanders added, referring to the pact inked by the Barack Obama administration with Iran in 2015 along with other world powers.
Sanders’s remarks echoed U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent harsh words about the 2015 deal, which has been widely seen as providing “clear and tangible” benefits by limiting Iran’s nuclear program. Trump set a May 12 deadline to decide whether to pull the United States out of the deal.
Differing from the White House accusation, the UN nuclear agency on Tuesday reiterated that no evidence was found in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009. “The same report stated that the Agency had no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement, adding that its consideration of this issue was closed.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised presentation, disclosed files allegedly obtained by Israel’s intelligence agency from Iran’s “secret nuclear archive,” saying the files proved that Iran has been secretly working on nuclear weapons.
Sanders told reporters at the briefing that the United States has had discussions with Israel. “We were notified prior to their announcement being made,” Sanders added.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday dismissed the allegations made by Netanyahu, calling them lies that were aimed at influencing Trump’s upcoming decision. (Xinhua)