Israel to share Iran nuke ‘proof’ with France, Germany

JERUSALEM

Israel will send experts to France and Germany to share alleged proof on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

“PM agreed that he would send professional teams to share with Germany and France the detailed material that has reached Israel regarding Iran's efforts to achieve nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement late Monday.

The move came shortly after Netanyahu claimed that Israeli intelligence services had obtained 55,000 pages of Iranian documents revealing how Tehran allegedly lied to the world after signing a landmark deal in 2015 to curb its nuclear program.

On Monday, the Israeli premier spoke over phone with both French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the Iranian issue.

“Netanyahu also spoke this evening with Russian President Vladimir Putin in wake of the exposure of the documents on the Iranian plan to achieve nuclear weapons,” the statement said. “Prime Minister Netanyahu also intends to update the leaders of Great Britain and China forthwith.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has dismissed the Israeli claims about its nuclear program as “baseless”.

In July 2015, the EU and the P5+1 group of countries — China, Germany, France, Russia, the U.K. and U.S. — signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, with Tehran.

The accord stipulated a gradual lifting of anti-Iranian sanctions in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program and allowing inspections to ensure that the nature of the program is peaceful.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce a decision on May 12 whether or not the U.S. will pull out of the nuclear deal.