Bennett: Iran’s Deception Against IAEA a Wake-Up Call to World

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday referred to a Wall Street Journal report that Iran had gained access to confidential IAEA reports and for two decades used them to mislead the IAEA and conceal suspected work on nuclear weapons.

The documents were among the files seized by Israeli intelligence in January 2018 from a Tehran archive, the paper said.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday pointed to Iran’s deception as a “wake-up call” for the world.

“Iran’s deception, which was plotted on the basis of documents stolen from the IAEA, is a wake-up call for us all. This is further proof that Iran is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons,” he said.

“[Iran’s] systematic policy of cheating, stealing, and concealing evidence against the IAEA became a matter of undisputed fact today [Wednesday] in front of the entire international community. Aside from the fraud, the documents provide evidence of ongoing prohibited nuclear activity, which raises new issues requiring investigation,” Bennett said.

“The IAEA is a professional body that functions as the international ‘gatekeeper’ in the field of nuclear weaponry. I congratulate IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s for insisting on keeping the [Iran nuclear] files open to this day – which was certainly the right call. In light of everything [that has come to light], the time has come for the IAEA’s Board of Governors to issue a clear message to Iran – ‘It stops now.'”