Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed a mass of documents on Monday that, according to him, fully prove that Iran previously sought to build a nuclear weapon. His comments come just two weeks before President Donald Trump is to decide whether to pull out of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal.
Political leaders in Iran have long said their nuclear program was only used for “peaceful purposes” like energy production. However, that was found to be untrue after the thousands of pages of documents revealed by Netanyahu included nuke designs, blueprints, and spreadsheets.
“Tonight I’m here to tell you one thing. Iran lied, big time,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of his presentation, according to a report from CNBC. That acknowledgement marshaled international support for a U.S. campaign to impose a tough series of economic sanctions against Iran.
In a report from Bloomberg, the announcement caused crude oil futures to rise 0.7 percent, settling just a few cents shy of a three-year high. Brent crude, the international benchmark traded in London, closed at a level not see since late 2014, setting off alarms in the trading world following a concerning geopolitical risk.
The documents that were revealed were said to be copied from a “highly secret location” in Iran. Reportedly dubbed “Project Amad,” it was outlined as a comprehensive program to design, build and test nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu said the files provided, “new and conclusive proof of the secret nuclear weapons program that Iran has been hiding for years from the international community in its secret atomic archive.” The Israeli leader also said that the U.S. has proven the authenticity of the documents.
“We’ve shared this material with the United States and the United States can vouch for its authenticity,” Netanyahu said on Monday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the signatories to the nuclear agreement have repeatedly confirmed that Iran is complying with the deal as it is written. Nevertheless, the Trump administration, Israel, and foreign policy hawks like National Security Adviser John Bolton and newly-sworn in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have long argued that the accord itself is flawed.
In January, President Trump waived sanctions against Iran, but said he would not suspend them when the next deadline arrived on May 12 unless the U.S. and Europe agreed on a new agreement.
Russia and China continue to support the original agreement, with the European delegation open to new talks, but insistent on persevering the existing accord.
Currently, French President Emmanuel Macron is working with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to salvage the deal, following Macron’s U.S. trip and subsequent meeting with Trump and congressional address last week. At the end of his visit, Macron explained that he believes Trump will leave the nuclear deal for “domestic reasons.”
