Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday claimed Iran has a second weapons facility for its nuclear weapons program.
"Iran has another secret facility in Tehran, a secret atomic warehouse for storing massive amounts of equipment and material from Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program,” Netahyahu said before the UN General Assembly in New York.
He called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate the site, saying Iran has already taken 33 pounds (15 kilograms) of nuclear material and spread it throughout Tehran to hide it.
Netanyahu called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, a "fundamental lie".
In May, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal saying it was "rotten" and one sided.
Trump reinstated sanctions against Iran and is expected to impose harsher ones in November.
Netanyahu urged the international community to support the U.S. and Israel in pushing the new sanctions against Iran.
Throughout his speech, Netanyahu also defended its nation-state law, defining the country has the homeland of the Jewish people.
However, he did not speak in depth on the on-going conflict between Israel and Palestine, yet he mentioned that Israel is working towards a “future for the one and only Jewish state.”
Dr. Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), called Israel “a colonial-apartheid state” in response to Netanyahu’s speech.
“His speech further exposes Israel’s systematic denial of our right to exist, to live in freedom and to celebrate our national identity,” Erekat said in a statement.
The U.S. will sooner or later rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday.Speaking at a press conference in New York, where he was attending the UN General Assembly, Rouhani described the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 accord as "a mistake".He said it would ease the way for dialogue if the U.S. administration "stops bullying, keeps its promises, abides by the laws and respects human rights".Rouhani underlined that he met with 16 world leaders in New York and all of them supported the nuclear agreement.He said the U.S. has isolated itself by pulling out from the accord but would return to the deal because “nobody benefits from the current situation".In May, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from a landmark nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and the P5 1 group of nations -- the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.He later reinstated U.S. sanctions on Tehran, which had been lifted under the terms of the agreement in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear energy program.The sanctions are expected to impact Iranian oil exports, which provide Tehran with the revenue needed to finance its national budget.Laughter at Trump speech a sign of US isolation: Iran guards chiefTurkey to continue buying Iranian gas: ErdoğanTrump says Iran ‘has no choice but to change tune’ ahead of UN speech
Rouhani says US will eventually rejoin nuclear deal