Israeli Intel Officials Stop Netanyahu From Bragging About ‘Third’ Iranian Nuclear Site

More Israeli secrecy is likely to add to doubts about allegations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week gave a speech to the UN in which he revealed what he claimed was a secret Hezbollah site in Lebanon, and a secret Iranian atomic warehouse in Iran, the later of which he alleged used to contain radioactive material, but doesn’t anymore.

Israeli officials say there was a third site to be unveiled at one point, also Iranian, but that security officials objected to unveiling it. They offered no additional details, but claimed the putative site they did say existed, and the secret other site, proved Iran is “deceiving and cheating.”

Of course, there is no proof of any of this. The site Netanyahu did announce was said to have contained 15 kg of radioactive material at one point in the past, and Israeli officials said Iran had moved that back in August. So while they demand the IAEA “do something” about it, at most they’re going to find an empty building.

That Israel is withholding even their own information on this other Iranian site is likely to further raise skepticism, as it suggests this was intelligence Israel may not have been comfortable asking the world to follow through on at best, or is just another example of Israel keeping secrets from the UN, while continually condemning the UN for not acting in line with their wishes.

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.