Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hitting the US mainstream media TV circuit, defending his latest, theatrical “revelation” regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons “lies”.
Netanyahu’s claims have been branded as “old news” by former CIA Director Michael Hayden, with many US and EU officials finding nothing new or ground breaking in what Netanyahu presented earlier this week.
The Duran noted that Netanyahu simply told world leaders things about the Iranian nuclear weapons programme which they have always known…
A well-established trick of a skilled propagandist is to dress up as a “startling revelation” something which in reality everyone with knowledge of a matter has long known.
We had a masterclass in this technique yesterday from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is someone who is not just a skilled propagandist but who is actually a brilliant one.
Thus we heard from him a technically superb presentation about how Iran has “lied” about its nuclear programme, complete with the perfect prop: a vast archive of documents apparently stolen by Israeli intelligence from Iran, which supposedly confirms how Iran has previously “lied” about its nuclear weapons programme.
*****
Specifically, Iran did have a nuclear weapons programme before 2003 – just as Netanyahu says – and Iran has not been truthful in its denial about this – as Netanyahu also says – but all the indications are that Iran’s nuclear weapons programme was put on hold in 2003, and has not been pursued since, and nothing Netanyahu said yesterday in any way casts doubt on that fact.
US intelligence publicly reported all this in 2007.
These facts were therefore fully known by all the world powers – including the US – when the JCPOA was agreed in 2015.
In no sense is it therefore true that the JCPOA is based on a “lie”, and Netanyahu’s claim to that effect is wrong.
Nor is there any evidence that Iran has gone back on any of the commitments it took when it agreed to the JCPOA in July 2015, and importantly Netanyahu in his presentation yesterday provided no evidence that it had done so.
In an interview with CNN, Netanyahu reasserted his claim that Iran was “brazenly lying” about its nuclear ambitions prior to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.
When “New Day” host Chris Cuomo pressed Netanyahu on Israel’s nuclear capability, the prime minister refused to answer the question, instead stating, rather oddly, that he did not seek war with Iran.
“I’ll tell you one thing, we’ve never called for the annihilation of any country.”
“Nobody is seeking that kind of development.”
“It’s interesting that the nuclear arms race that I predicted would unfold once this deal was signed because everybody knew that they were just kicking the can forward for a few years and as time passes Iran will get a nuclear arsenal.”
“Now you hear other countries in the region saying ‘We want nuclear weapons, too.'”
Via Sputnik News…
Earlier this week, Netanyahu said in a televised address that Israeli intelligence had obtained files proving Iran had no intention of complying with commitments in the 2015 deal.
Netanyahu has faced accusations that it revealed little that was not already known by the international community.
Asked on “New Day” whether Netanyahu had revealed any new information on the issue, ex CIA director Michael Hayden said the material divulged was “fundamentally old news.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ watchdog monitoring Iranian nuclear activity, announced in 2015 that there was no evidence indicating that Iran carried out any activity related to the development of nuclear weapons after 2009.
The IAEA reiterated its position on Iran’s nuclear program on Tuesday.
Iran denounced Netanyahu’s presentation, describing it as a “propaganda show.”
The JCPOA was signed by the European Union, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, on July 14, 2015.
The deal stipulates that Tehran pledge not to develop or acquire nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of sanctions imposed against the country.
The post Netanyahu tells CNN’s Chris Cuomo: ‘Israel doesn’t seek war with Iran’ appeared first on The Duran.