Daily Alert Archives

Why Netanyahu's Revelations Are Significant

(Atlantic Council) Matthew Kroenig - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's presentation of secret Iranian nuclear documents was revealing. Netanyahu claimed that illegal nuclear weaponization work continues to the present day. He said that "today, in 2018, this work is carried out by SPND, that's an organization inside Iran's Defense Ministry." His presentation claimed that the name of the program for developing a functioning nuclear warhead changed in 2003, but that substantive work has continued under a new label with the same lead scientist and some of the same staff under the euphemism of "scientific knowhow development." A condition of the nuclear deal in Section C, Part 14 was that Iran would come clean about the possible military dimensions (PMD) of its nuclear program. Netanyahu's presentation shows that Iran did not come clean, but lied about many aspects of its program in reporting to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2015. Moreover, Netanyahu's briefing lends support to those who argue that Iran is merely waiting out the clock in order to resume its march to the bomb. The writer is deputy director for strategy at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, associate professor of government at Georgetown University, and a former adviser on Iran policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
2018-05-04 00:00:00
Full Article