Netanyahu's allegations on n-deal aim to influence Trump: Iran

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's allegations against Iran is aimed to influence the US President Donald Trump's upcoming decision about Iran's nuclear deal.

"What we saw from Benjamin Netanyahu (Monday's televised presentation) was nothing but a childish and ridiculous show," Araghchi told Press TV on Monday.

The allegations are the repetitions of Netanyahu's speeches in the past, he said, adding that such allegations against Tehran have already been proven wrong by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Xinhua news agency reported.

Netanyahu is trying to affect Trump's upcoming decision about the Iranian 2015 international nuclear deal, or JCPOA, but, Tehran is prepared for any scenario by Trump, he said.

Iran does not care about Netanyahu's allegations, Araghchi stressed.

In a televised presentation on Monday, Netanyahu disclosed files allegedly obtained by Israel's intelligence from Iran's "secret nuclear archive," saying the files prove Iran has secretly worked on nuclear weapons.

The nuclear deal, signed in July 2015, was designed to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the removal of international sanctions on Iran.

"Even after the deal, Iran continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons know-how for future use" at the Fordow nuclear testing site, said Netanyahu.

The disclosure came ahead of Trump's looming deadline on May 12 to decide whether to extend the waiver on nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.

--IANS

pgh/