Israeli PM Netanyahu Alleges Iran Developed Nuclear Weapons At Secret Facility

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons at a secret facility near the central Iranian city of Abadeh, with the Iranian government destroying the site after it had been exposed.

In a broadcast, Netanyahu unveiled an aerial picture that he said was taken of the Abadeh facility in June 2018, with coordinates of the location.

"In this site, Iran conducted experiments to develop nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said.

"When Iran realized that we uncovered the site, here's what they did," Netanyahu added. He then showed a picture from the same location a month later with the site having disappeared.

"They destroyed the site. They just wiped it out," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu then called on the international community to "wake up" and accused Iran of "systematically lying."

"The possessor of real nukes cries wolf – on an alleged 'demolished' site in Iran," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted in response.

Zarif accused Netanyahu of wanting another war and posted a video of Netanyahu's 2002 testimony to the U.S. Congress, where he advocated for American intervention in Iraq to take out Saddam Hussein.

While Netanyahu has pushed President Trump to leave the 2015 Iranian Nuclear Deal and raised concerns about Iran's nuclear program, Israel has weapons of their own, as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated in June that Israel has between 80 to 90 nuclear warheads.

Netanyahu has claimed that Iran is the world's top sponsor of terrorism and has waged a war against Iranian influence in the Middle East region. He has also tried to get Arab gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to join the cause.

Trump told White House reporters Monday that he would have no problem meeting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, which could cause tension between the U.S. and Israel. Trump might be seeking a new nuclear deal with Iran as an achievement for his political legacy.

The Trump administration implemented sanctions against Iran in November that had been lifted due to the Iran nuclear deal. Rouhani has said that the Iranian government would not be interested in any diplomatic talks with the U.S. unless the sanctions are lifted again.