Netanyahu speaks with world leaders about Iran's n-programme

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has talked over the phone with several world leaders to update them on Iran's nuclear weapons programme, his office said.

Netanyahu spoke on Monday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, said a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The Prime Minister and the leaders agreed that in the next few days, he would send professional teams to share with Germany and France the detailed materials about Iran's efforts to obtain nuclear weapons," it said.

After the evening live presentation of Israeli documents on Iran's nuclear moves, Netanyahu also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on this matter, the statement said.

"The two also discussed the situation in Syria and agreed to meet as soon as possible," it added.

Netanyahu also planned to update the leaders of Britain and China as soon as possible, it revealed.

Israel had already shared the materials with the US ahead of the presentation.

On Monday evening, Netanyahu presented what he said was "half a ton" of pages and CDs containing information about Iran's nuclear program.

Speaking in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, where the files are stored, Netanyahu said the materials were obtained recently by Israel's security agencies.

The files reportedly show that Iran "lied" about never having tried to develop nuclear weapons and had continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons knowledge even after signing the 2015 deal with world powers.

As part of the deal, international sanctions on Iran were lifted.

Iran rejected the allegations, as Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that the accusations were "old allegations already dealt with by the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency)."

The Israeli presentation was made ahead of the looming deadline for US President Donald Trump to decide whether to extend the waiver on the nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to quit the deal, which was signed between Iran and the six world powers, including the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, as a result of the efforts by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.

--IANS

pgh/