Israel Rehashes Allegations as ‘Evidence’ of Iran Nuclear Weapons Program

Parchin Allegations Appear to Be Related to Already Discredited Claims

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz once again claimed Israel has secret evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, but the scant details he offered of tests at the Parchin military site suggest he is rehashing already discredited allegations.

Steinitz claimed “highly reliable information” on the tests, which they say could “by used only for detonating a nuclear weapon,” but seemed to be the same pre-2003 tests that turned out to be part of detonator testing for oil extraction.

Iran has been reluctant to provide the IAEA with too much direct access to the Parchin site, noting it’s not a nuclear site, but a conventional military site, and also noting the IAEA’s tendency to “leak” information unrelated to the nuclear program to member nations.

Steinitz pushed the “evidence” and called for the P5+1 to end nuclear negotiations with Iran. Iran insisted the new evidence was “fabricated” and insists that they remain committed to talks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.