Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that the U.N. nuclear inspector they detained last week proves Iran lied about its “secret nuclear weapons program.”
His comments come after the International Atomic Energy Agency made a statement Thursday addressing Iran’s treatment of the inspector as well as responding to comments made by Iran, The Times Of Israel reported. (RELATED: Report Iran Held Inspector In ‘First Of Its Kind Incident’)
The U.N. Nuclear inspector reportedly “tested positive for suspected traces of explosive nitrates,” according to Iranian authorities, per the Associated Press.
The Oct. 28 incident occurred at a nuclear facility in Natanz, Iran, where a majority of the centrifuges are now producing enriched uranium, according to the Times Of Israel.
Kazem Gharibabadi, the Iranian ambassador to the IAEA, made the statement to the organization disputing Iran.
Gharibabadi claimed that the inspector set off an alarm in the facility that checks for nitrates, an explosive material. This is when the Iranians held the inspector and confiscated her documents.
VIENNA (AP) — #Iran alleges the #UN inspector it blocked from a nuclear site tested positive for suspected traces of explosive nitrates.
— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) November 7, 2019
An IAEA spokesperson said “the agency does not go into details in public about such matters, but based on the information available to us, the agency does not agree with Iran’s characterization of the situation involving the inspector, who was carrying out official safeguards duties in Iran,” as reported by The Times Of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed with the U.N. watchdogs assessment and said that they “confirm Iran lied,” according to AP. (RELATED: Iran Challenges US By Violating Nuclear Deal With Underground Uranium Program)
לפני כשנה חשפתי באו״ם את התכנית הסודית של איראן לפתח נשק גרעיני וקראתי לסוכנות הבינלאומית לאנרגיה אטומית לשלוח לשם מפקחים.
היום הסוכנות קבעה כי איראן שיקרה. ואני אומר לכם – היא ממשיכה לשקר. pic.twitter.com/ntmms3MknB
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) November 7, 2019
Netanyahu previously spoke to the U.N. to talk about Iran’s nuclear programs.
Iran has since canceled the accreditation for the U.N. inspector.
Both the IAEA and Iran have not made any further comments regarding this issue at this time.