Iran’s Zarif Hits Back at Netanyahu over Anti-Tehran Remarks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif deplored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Tel Aviv had identified a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran, saying no “craft show” can cover up facts about Israel’s secret nuclear weapons program.
“No arts & craft show will ever obfuscate that Israel is only regime in our region with a *secret* and *undeclared* nuclear weapons program - including an *actual atomic arsenal*,” Zarif said on his Twitter account early on Friday.
“Time for Israel to fess up and open its illegal nuclear weapons program to international inspectors,” he added in his tweet.
In a speech to the UN general assembly on Thursday, Netanyahu said he was revealing the existence of the “atomic warehouse” for the first time in public.
As he has in past presentations, Netanyahu brought visual aids to illustrate his claims, according to media reports.
He held up a satellite image which he said showed where the warehouse was located in Tehran, and a photograph of a nondescript wall and metal gate, which he said showed the exterior of the warehouse.
Israel is the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, but its policy is to neither confirm nor deny that it has atomic bombs. The Tel Aviv regime is estimated to have 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal.
Unlike Iran, the Tel Aviv regime is not a member of the NPT -- whose aim is to prevent the spread of nuclear arms and weapons technology – in defiance of international pressure.
