Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Monday he had “proof” of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons programme.

Netanyahu, who has repeatedly called for the nuclear deal between world powers and his country’s arch-enemy Iran to be either altered or scrapped, gave a PowerPoint presentation live on television allegedly detailing Iran’s nuclear dossier.

The Israeli leader promised to hand over intelligence on Iran to the IAEA, but it’s likely they already know.

However, observers say Netanyahu’s claims failed to uncover anything new on Iran’s nuclear arsenal than had already been detailed in a 2011 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

His speech comes as the White House considers whether to quit a landmark atomic accord that Israel opposes.

US President Donald Trump has a May 12 deadline to decide on whether or not to walk away from the deal, which he has derided as “insane” – partly because its restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities begin expiring in 2025.

The 2015 agreement saw Iran agree to freeze its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

Netanyahu, who Israeli police recently recommended by indicted over a fraud and corruption scandal, says the deal leaves Iran able to quickly reboot its nuclear programme to enable military production.

For years, Israel has insisted that Iran is on the verge of creating a nuclear weapon.

Last week he reiterated calls for the deal to be renegotiated, saying: “Israel will not allow regimes that seek our annihilationto acquire nuclear weapons.”

“This is why this deal has to be either fully fixed or fully nixed.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has criticised US and European discussions over the landmark pact, singling out Trump as a “tradesman” who lacked the qualifications to deal with the complex agreement.

This article was originally published on The New Arab. Read the article here.

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