U.N. Inspectors Corroborate Netanyahu’s Charges on Iran Secret Weapons Program

An inspection conducted by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog has corroborated charges made by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that Iran had been pursuing a nuclear weapon at a site in Tehran.

International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors found evidence of radioactive material at the facility in question during a March visit there, according to Channel 13 news.

The inspectors took ground samples to detect any radioactive material. They are now preparing a report on their findings.

Quoting unnamed Israeli officials, the news network said the samples tested positive and that extensive evidence of radioactive material was found, indicating Iran stored nuclear materials there that it did not report to the IAEA, as Netanyahu said in a speech at the United Nations in September.

He said the facility “was used for “storing massive amounts of equipment and material from Iran’s secret weapons program.” Iran insisted it wasn’t hiding anything, its state media claiming the warehouse was a recycling facility for scrap metal.

The Channel 13 report noted that “the storing of radioactive material in a secret facility without informing the IAEA is a breach of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [NPT], to which Iran is a signatory.”

Israel and the U.S. reportedly are anticipating that the IAEA will soon issue a report on the findings. Inclusion of the U.S. in the report suggests that Washington is also aware of the development.