The White House corrects its statement on Iran's nuclear program, undercutting Israel's claim

[Swordsmyth]

The White House released a statement saying Israel's intelligence confirms what the U.S. already knows, that "Iran has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program that it has tried and failed to hide from the world." It then issued a second statement (https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/991128741446332416) changing "has" to "had," effectively confirming that Iran no longer has a nuclear weapons program. A White House official told NBC News that a "clerical error" was to blame (https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/991134533021028353) for the wrong verb tense being used. James Fallows, who worked in the Carter White House, compared that "error" (https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/991136816924450817) to "a surgeon amputating the wrong leg."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. has "known about this material for a while" and he had discussed it with Netanyahu, but when asked if it shows Iran violating the nuclear agreement, as Netanyahu claimed, he said (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/world/middleeast/israel-iran-nuclear-netanyahu.html), "I'll leave that to the lawyers." In his April 12 Senate confirmation hearing, Pompeo, then CIA director, had said he has "seen no evidence that they are not in compliance today." Under the 2015 deal, Tehran cannot make nuclear fuel until 2030 and agreed to never make nuclear weapons. The U.S. and International Atomic Energy Agency have had similar proof that Iran used to have a nuclear weapons program since 2008 (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/world/middleeast/israel-iran-nuclear-netanyahu.html).
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed "Netanyahu's show" as "a childish and ridiculous game" timed "to affect Trump's decision on Iran's nuclear deal," by May 12. A senior Israeli official tells The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/world/middleeast/israel-iran-nuclear-netanyahu.html) that Israel believes Trump will pull out of the Iran deal so Netanyahu's presentation was to "support" Trump, not "pressure" him.

More at: http://theweek.com/speedreads/770601...laim-iran-lied (http://theweek.com/speedreads/770601/white-house-corrects-statement-irans-nuclear-program-undercutting-israels-claim-iran-lied)

[Raginfridus]

https://media.giphy.com/media/Vff5Qxz6LLzag/giphy.gif

[spudea]

how is it "undercutting" if the statement was corrected to reflect exactly what Israel said?

[timosman]

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-israels-announcement-related-iranian-nuclear-weapons-development/


April 30, 2018

The United States is aware of the information just released by Israel and continues to examine it carefully. This information provides new and compelling details about Iran’s efforts to develop missile-deliverable nuclear weapons. These facts are consistent with what the United States has long known: Iran had a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program that it has tried and failed to hide from the world and from its own people. The Iranian regime has shown it will use destructive weapons against its neighbors and others. Iran must never have nuclear weapons.

Earlier version
https://web.archive.org/web/20180501000447/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-israels-announcement-related-iranian-nuclear-weapons-development/


The United States is aware of the information just released by Israel and continues to examine it carefully. This information provides new and compelling details about Iran’s efforts to develop missile-deliverable nuclear weapons. These facts are consistent with what the United States has long known: Iran has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program that it has tried and failed to hide from the world and from its own people. The Iranian regime has shown it will use destructive weapons against its neighbors and others. Iran must never have nuclear weapons.

[EBounding]

991181403546050561

[timosman]

991181403546050561

Unnamed sources.:cool:

[FSP-Rebel]

991181517589135360

[Swordsmyth]

how is it "undercutting" if the statement was corrected to reflect exactly what Israel said?
Israel claims that Iran currently has a nuclear program, the corrected statement puts it in the past tense.

[spudea]

Israel claims that Iran currently has a nuclear program, the corrected statement puts it in the past tense.

That's not true.

[Swordsmyth]

That's not true.

@/LahavHarkov

Netanyahu says this is a fraction of what was in the files, but there are 4 main conclusions:
1.Iran lied about developing nuclear weapons
2.They kept the program up after the nuclear deal
3.They lied in the IAA reports
4.The entire Iran nuclear deal is based on lies

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?521758-Massive-Blast-in-Syria-Developing&p=6623128&viewfull=1#post6623128

It then issued a second statement (https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/991128741446332416) changing "has" to "had," effectively confirming that Iran no longer has a nuclear weapons program.

[Raginfridus]

https://youtu.be/Pw2sex1mJNIYou know it be true.

[spudea]

@/LahavHarkov

Netanyahu says this is a fraction of what was in the files, but there are 4 main conclusions:
1.Iran lied about developing nuclear weapons
2.They kept the program up after the nuclear deal
3.They lied in the IAA reports
4.The entire Iran nuclear deal is based on lies

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?521758-Massive-Blast-in-Syria-Developing&p=6623128&viewfull=1#post6623128

It then issued a second statement (https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/991128741446332416) changing "has" to "had," effectively confirming that Iran no longer has a nuclear weapons program.

What you said: "Israel claims that Iran currently has a nuclear program"
What Israel said: "Iran saved/archived the nuclear program they had"

Because of this, Iran can quickly restart the program to develop nuclear weapons. And Iran lied about all of this to obtain the deal and the lifting of sanctions.

[Swordsmyth]

What you said: "Israel claims that Iran currently has a nuclear program"
What Israel said: "Iran saved/archived the nuclear program they had"

Because of this, Iran can quickly restart the program to develop nuclear weapons. And Iran lied about all of this to obtain the deal and the lifting of sanctions.

@/michaeldweiss
Netanyahu: Nuclear weapons-related work continues in 2018, using same personnel of supposedly shuttered program.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...=1#post6623128 (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?521758-Massive-Blast-in-Syria-Developing&p=6623128&viewfull=1#post6623128)

[spudea]

@/michaeldweiss
Netanyahu: Nuclear weapons-related work continues in 2018, using same personnel of supposedly shuttered program.

Ah I see you've changed your claim. The nuclear related work is the well known ICBM development and the uranium enrichment facilities.

[Swordsmyth]

Ah I see you've changed your claim. The nuclear related work is the well known ICBM development and the uranium enrichment facilities.

“Even after the deal, Iran continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons programme for future use,” he said, speaking in English.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/30/netanyahu-accuses-iran-cheating-nuclear-deal



Iran is "blatantly lying" when it says it doesn't have a nuclear program, Netanyahu claimed, laying out what he claimed was proof Iran had developed and continued to develop its nuclear program.


Netanyahu concluded by saying "Iran lied about never having a secret nuclear program. Secondly, even after the deal, it continued to expand its nuclear program for future use. Thirdly, Iran lied by not coming clean to the IAE (https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/iaea---1.5599138)A (https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/iaea---1.5599138)," he said, adding that, "the nuclear deal is based on lies based on Iranian deception."
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/pm-expected-to-reveal-how-iran-cheated-world-on-nuke-program-1.6045300






https://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6049230!/image/2803922355.JPG_gen/derivatives/size_609x343/2803922355.JPG

[spudea]

“Even after the deal, Iran continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons programme for future use,” he said, speaking in English.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/30/netanyahu-accuses-iran-cheating-nuclear-deal

That quote is not in the presentation. Here I'll just include the video. At time stamp 14:40, he says "nuclear weapons knowhow", not programme. The knowhow again referring to the ICBM and uranium enrichment. A nuclear weapons programme would be an active bomb building and testing programme. He made no such claim.



https://youtu.be/_qBt4tSCALA

[Swordsmyth]

That quote is not in the presentation. Here I'll just include the video. At time stamp 14:40, he says "nuclear weapons knowhow", not programme. The knowhow again referring to the ICBM and uranium enrichment. A nuclear weapons programme would be an active bomb building and testing programme. He made no such claim.



https://youtu.be/_qBt4tSCALA

When he says they "continue to...EXPAND its nuclear weapons know how FOR FUTURE USE" that is the same as accusing them of having a nuclear weapons program.

And then there is the part you ignored:

Iran is "blatantly lying" when it says it doesn't have a nuclear program, Netanyahu claimed, laying out what he claimed was proof Iran had developed and continued to develop its nuclear program.


Netanyahu concluded by saying "Iran lied about never having a secret nuclear program. Secondly, even after the deal, it continued to expand its nuclear program for future use. Thirdly, Iran lied by not coming clean to the IAE (https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/iaea---1.5599138)A (https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/iaea---1.5599138)," he said, adding that, "the nuclear deal is based on lies based on Iranian deception."
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...gram-1.6045300 (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/pm-expected-to-reveal-how-iran-cheated-world-on-nuke-program-1.6045300)

[spudea]

When he says they "continue to...EXPAND its nuclear weapons know how FOR FUTURE USE" that is the same as accusing them of having a nuclear weapons program.

No its not. A nuclear weapons program is building and testing nuclear bombs. No such claim was made about an active program

[Swordsmyth]

No its not. A nuclear weapons program is building and testing nuclear bombs. No such claim was made about an active program
How do you EXPAND your know how without an active program?

And then there is the part you ignored AGAIN:

Iran is "blatantly lying" when it says it doesn't have a nuclear program, Netanyahu claimed, laying out what he claimed was proof Iran had developed and continued to develop its nuclear program.


Netanyahu concluded by saying "Iran lied about never having a secret nuclear program. Secondly, even after the deal, it continued to expand its nuclear program for future use. Thirdly, Iran lied by not coming clean to the IAE (https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/iaea---1.5599138)A (https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/iaea---1.5599138)," he said, adding that, "the nuclear deal is based on lies based on Iranian deception."
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...gram-1.6045300 (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/pm-expected-to-reveal-how-iran-cheated-world-on-nuke-program-1.6045300)

[jmdrake]

No its not. A nuclear weapons program is building and testing nuclear bombs. No such claim was made about an active program

So......if they aren't building and testing bombs.....and they never said they would quit development of long range missiles.....how exactly did Iran lie?

[spudea]

How do you EXPAND your know how without an active program?

And then there is the part you ignored AGAIN:

Iran is "blatantly lying" when it says it doesn't have a nuclear program, Netanyahu claimed, laying out what he claimed was proof Iran had developed and continued to develop its nuclear program.


Netanyahu concluded by saying "Iran lied about never having a secret nuclear program. Secondly, even after the deal, it continued to expand its nuclear program for future use. Thirdly, Iran lied by not coming clean to the IAE (https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/iaea---1.5599138)A (https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/iaea---1.5599138)," he said, adding that, "the nuclear deal is based on lies based on Iranian deception."
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...gram-1.6045300 (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/pm-expected-to-reveal-how-iran-cheated-world-on-nuke-program-1.6045300)

you continue to quote things that were not in the presentation, that were not said. Have a nice evening.

[spudea]

So......if they aren't building and testing bombs.....and they never said they would quit development of long range missiles.....how exactly did Iran lie?

I linked the video, its less than 15mins. You are free to come to your own conclusion.

[Swordsmyth]

you continue to quote things that were not in the presentation, that were not said. Have a nice evening.

Not all of the presentation is in English, do you speak Hebrew?

Haaretz says he said those things, I dropped the part you pointed out that The Guardian had wrong.

But even if we just stick to the right quote at 14:40 I would like to know how do you EXPAND your know how without an active program?

[Swordsmyth]

On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued an assessment in response to Netanyahu's speech firmly asserting that there are "no credible indications" supporting Netanyahu's claims of a continued Iranian nuclear weapons program after 2009.

According to the AP summary of the IAEA assessment (https://apnews.com/f4755c425bc5419eb36915029f2f64dd/The-Latest:-UN-found-no-traces-of-Iran-nuclear-arms-program):

The U.N. nuclear agency says it believes that Iran had a “coordinated” nuclear weapons program in place before 2003, but found “no credible indications” of such work after 2009...
The documents focused on Iranian activities before 2003 and did not provide any explicit evidence that Iran has violated its 2015 nuclear deal with the international community.
The IAEA statements followed on the heels of a number of international Iran analysts weighing in to say there appeared "nothing new" in terms of "evidence" (https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/01/middleeast/israel-iran-nuclear-evidence-analysis/index.html) which Netanyahu confidently presented as if it were an open-and-shut bombshell revelation of Iranian malfeasance.

Nothing really new in @netanyahu (https://twitter.com/netanyahu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Iran speech. Confirms that Iran closed down nuclear weapons program in 2003. Continued technology efforts. In principle all of this well known. No allegation that Iran cheats on 2015 nuclear deal. https://t.co/IJElnZ3JmM
— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) April 30, 2018 (https://twitter.com/carlbildt/status/991006010578997253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) One such specialist in an op-ed for the New York Times called the supposed Israeli Mossad intelligence haul a big "nuclear nothingburger" (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/opinion/benjamin-netanyahu-nuclear-nothingburger.html) full of things already well-known to the world, with the further implication that the intelligence operation that netted the files itself appears hokey and untrustworthy.
Middle East analyst Steven Simon noted in the Times piece that (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/opinion/benjamin-netanyahu-nuclear-nothingburger.html):

The archive had been stored in what Mr. Netanyahu described as a derelict warehouse in Tehran. The photos he displayed indicated that there did not even appear to be a lock on the door. One wonders how important the Iranians thought these documents were, given the slapdash approach they took to storing them. In any case, the Mossad operation that netted this haul apparently took place in January and President Trump was briefed on it shortly afterward.
Meanwhile, former Israeli National Security Advisor Uzi Arad in response to Netanyahu's claim that Iran lied about its nuclear program, said that "at no point was there any indication that Iran violated the agreement."

"At no point was there any indication that Iran violated the agreement", says former Israeli National Security Advisor Uzi Arad in response to @netanyahu (https://twitter.com/netanyahu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)'s claim that #Iran (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) lied about its nuclear program. pic.twitter.com/e1ZqNAAuJ2 (https://t.co/e1ZqNAAuJ2)
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) May 1, 2018 (https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/991345539131367424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Indeed, after Netanyahu's bizarre performance which in typical fashion made heavy use of stage props and simplistically styled visuals (who can forget the absurd bugs bunny cartoon bomb image (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/27/binyamin-netanyahu-cartoon-bomb-un) he held up at the U.N. in 2012?), there's been little reporting focused on just how a team of Mossad agents waltzed into Iran to steal from "a dilapidated warehouse" (https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/mossad-smuggled-iranian-nuclear-archive-to-israel-in-january-1.6045870) over 100,000 of the country's most sensitive and damning documents.
To underscore this far-fetched scenario is literally the claim being made — that a large Mossad team walked into an Iranian warehouse to physically carry and secretly transport bulk print files and CDs out of the country — a senior Israeli intelligence official was widely quoted as saying of the covert operation (https://www.axios.com/netanyahu-briefed-trump-on-irans-nuclear-archive-f5717785-fbf0-4f62-9244-77afbe19e03b.html), "We didn’t take everything because it was too heavy."

To this we might reply it was so nice of the Iranians and their feared and paranoia-driven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to leave their most secretive and "hidden" files so unguarded and out in the open, and in an old unsecured building in which there "did not even appear to be a lock on the door" according to the NY Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/opinion/benjamin-netanyahu-nuclear-nothingburger.html).

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-02/trump-all-decided-withdraw-iran-deal-iaea-refutes-netanyahu-speech

[jmdrake]

I linked the video, its less than 15mins. You are free to come to your own conclusion.

Hello. Here is my conclusion. Iran lied but so did Netanyahu in this video. What is Netanyahu's lie? That the Iran nuke deal was based on the idea that Iran wasn't trying to develop a nuclear weapon. If you think about it for just a minute it's an obvious lie. Why would we be offering Iran a deal to get them to end their nuclear weapons program if we didn't believe they had a nuclear weapons program? Netanyahu and others were saying that Iran was "3 months" from a bomb. Years later....Iran still doesn't have a bomb. So what is Netanyahu trying to accomplish by derailing the program? Getting Iran to be able to get a bomb? No. He just wants war. Period.

[Ender]

I posted this in the World News forum but it definitely needs to be here.

Iran signed the Nuclear Treaty- Israel never did & it is estimated that Israel now has about 200-400 nuclear warheads.


Israeli Pot Calls Iran Kettle Black
By Eric Margolis

May 5, 2018

‘Chutzpah’ is a wonderful Yiddish word that means outrageous nerve, or unmitigated gall.

This week’s Chutzpah Award goes to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Standing in front of props of data files and cd’s, Netanyahu claimed Israel’s renowned Mossad spy agency had stolen a small mountain of secret Iranian nuclear data from a warehouse in Tehran.

The never-understated Netanyahu claimed that the purloined material proved that Iran was lying about having halted its covert nuclear program and must not be trusted.

Netanyahu’s supposed nuclear bombshell was likely the warm-up act for President Donald Trump to reject Iran’s nuclear freeze deal with the US, Russia, China, Germany, and France, blessed by the UN and the European Union. The only thing Trump apparently hates more than Muslims is his predecessor, former President Barack Obama (whom he accused of being a secret Muslim). The Iran nuclear deal was the most important foreign policy accomplishment of the Obama administration.

Netanyahu repeatedly warned the world about Iran’s alleged nuclear arsenal while making no mention at all of Israel’s own large, secret nuclear arsenal, which is believed to comprise of over 100 warheads, perhaps even several hundred, that can be delivered by aircraft, missiles and submarines. Every Mideast nation can be hit by Israeli nukes as well as Russia, which some experts say is or was on Israel’s target list.
Trump, of course, made no mention of the awkward fact that Israel had stolen much of its nuclear technology and uranium from the United States, sometimes with the connivance of very senior US government officials. France, that paragon of world peace, had the rest.

Listening to Netanyahu accuse Iran of hiding secret nuclear facilities was pure pot calling the kettle black. Israel’s early nuclear program at Dimona in the Negev desert was entirely concealed from US and UN inspectors, including fake walls in the nuclear complex that completely fooled them. When Netanyahu accused Iran of cheating, he knows of what he speaks.

Most of what Netanyahu ‘revealed’ about Iran’s alleged nuclear program was old stuff, dating back to 1999-2003 and readily available in reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency. This respected UN agency now reports that Iran has fulfilled all of its commitments and abandoned its earlier nuclear program that did not produce any weapons before it was ended.

But facts don’t matter in this Trump-produced, made-for-TV drama. The key point is that with the naming of Michael Pompeo as US Secretary of State, and appointment of the rightwing fanatic John Bolton as US national security advisor, Israel’s rightwing government has completed its virtual takeover of US Mideast policy. As I’ve previously written, Trump looks more and more like a Trojan Horse for Netanyahu and his extremist allies.

Besides Pompeo and VP Mike Pence, both ardent Christian Zionists, and Bolton, Trump now has around him the UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, of Indian origin, who is the darling of the US far right and a handmaiden of arch-pro Israel billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, a major bankroller of the Republican Party. Add in Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and, of course, Trump’s daughter and son-in-law. In short, an amen-chorus for Israel’s far right.

This American Israel-first coalition has joined Netanyahu’s Likud alliance in pressing for war against Iran. The first skirmishes have already begun with over 100 Israeli air attacks on Syria, ostensibly against Iranian positions. A great propaganda hue and cry against the purported dangers of Iran is being raised in the US and Europe. According to Israel’s right, Assyrian hordes are about to engulf Israel.

In reality, Iran has very little offensive power. Like Iraq before it, Iran is militarily dilapidated with 40-year old equipment, a largely grounded air force, little artillery and poor communications. Tehran has a few inaccurate missiles but no nuclear warheads.

Israel’s powerful air force could easily turn any attacking Iranian forces into chopped falafel. Iran’s only strength is defensive, in urban combat or mountainous terrain. Iran has no capability to seriously threaten Israel except by aiding the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in showering northern Israel with light artillery rockets, a nuisance rather than a mortal danger.

Israel is moving to repeat its triumph in 2003 when the Bush administration, US partisans of Israel, and dishonest US media pushed the nation into a war of pure aggression against Iraq. Israel emerged the victor from this unprovoked war and is trying to repeat its success again with Iran.

Overthrowing Iran’s Islamic Republic would leave Israel the unchallenged power in the Mideast.