RNA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a televised address on Monday in which he accused Iran of violating the multilateral nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015.
The hawkish Israeli premier claimed that he had new "proof" via captured documents that Iran had developed a nuclear weapons plan, which could be activated at any time.
Ali Akbar Velayati, Ayatollah Khamenei's senior advisor on international affairs, told reporters on Tuesday that the reason behind Netanyahu’s recent remarks is that the Zionists have lost hope in being able to consolidate their control over the region.
“In fact, the [main] reason behind using these words is that the Zionist regime has lost its hope for survival [and] those who support the Zionist regime in the region have tried to distance themselves from these words due to their obscene nature,” Velayati said.
He added that when officials of the Zionist regime witnessed the victories of the Islamic Republic and its allies in the region while their own agents, including Daesh and al-Nusra Front, were being defeated, they resorted to such remarks.
“Among enemies of the Islamic Ummah and the resistance front, the Zionist regime’s prime minister is the least worthy of all,” Velayati emphasized.
The senior Iranian official's comments came on the same day that Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami slammed the Israeli prime minister's baseless claims and his provocative measures, saying that the Islamic Republic would give a benumbing and crushing response to enemies' conspiracies.
"I am warning the regime occupying [Jerusalem] al-Quds and its allies that they must stop their conspiracies and dangerous behavior, because Iran's response will be surprising and make them regretful," Hatami said.
Following Netanyahu’s example, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also repeated the same accusations and said in a statement on Monday that “the documents show that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program for years. Iran sought to develop nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems."
Pompeo, until last week director of the CIA, added, “Now that the world knows Iran has lied and is still lying, it is time to revisit the question of whether Iran can be trusted to enrich or control any nuclear material."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday slammed the U-turn in his American counterpart’s position on Iran's nuclear activities, highlighting Pompeo’s previous remarks in which he affirmed that Tehran had never tried to develop nuclear weapons.
Taking to his official Twitter account on Tuesday, Zarif questioned Pompeo’s conflicting positions on Iran's nuclear program saying, “On 4/12, Pompeo testified no need to worry about nixing JCPOA as Iran ‘not racing to a weapon before the deal’, nor would ‘turn to race to...weapon’ after. Now says 'time to revisit question of whether Iran can be trusted to enrich…any nuclear material'. So, which one is it?"
According to Press TV, Netanyahu's accusations came as US President Donald Trump considers whether to pull out of the 2015 nuclear accord.
Trump is a stern critic of the nuclear deal, reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, and has repeatedly warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement.
He said on January 12 that he wanted America's European allies to use the 120-day period before sanctions relief again came up for renewal to agree to tougher measures and new conditions; otherwise Washington would pull out of the deal.
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