Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly that Iran will have enough nuclear material to produce two bombs in just a matter of months.
Netanyahu delivered his annual address before the General Assembly on Tuesday and used the platform to criticize the “shameful” 2015 Iran nuclear deal and call on the international community to stand against Iranian nuclear pursuits. He pointed out that he was the leading dissenter of the deal, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“I opposed it because the nuclear deal did not block Iran’s path to the bomb. It actually paved its way to it. I opposed it because the deal’s restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program were only temporary and were no way tied to Iran’s change of behavior,” Netanyahu said.
“Now, Iran has violated even those temporary restrictions,” the prime minister continued. “Because of these violations, Iran will have enough enriched uranium in a few months for two nuclear bombs.”
Since President Trump pulled the United States from the pact in 2018, Iran has continued to expand its nuclear capabilities. In June, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report that concluded Iran has violated all of the deal’s strictures, including the enrichment and stockpiling of uranium.
During his Tuesday speech, Netanyahu also said that Iran has been working on much more powerful nuclear centrifuges and cautioned the U.N. that the technology would greatly expand its ability to enrich uranium.
“Iran has been working on a new generation of centrifuges. It’s called the IR-9, which will multiply Iran’s enrichment capability 50-fold,” he said. “Ladies and gentlemen, there is no question that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.”
Despite the ominous claim, the Jerusalem Post reported after Netanyahu’s speech that a functioning IR-9 centrifuge is “not even close to working.” In July, a facility in Natanz, Iran, that was working on the new generation of centrifuges exploded, with the blast believed to have been caused by sabotage. The explosion reportedly set back the country’s new centrifuge development by between one and two years.
Netanyahu also used his speech to reveal what he said was a secret Hezbollah arms depot located in a Beirut neighborhood close to the city’s international airport. The revelation came after a massive explosion rocked Beirut earlier this year and killed more than 180, wounded more than 6,000, and left between 250,000 and 300,000 people homeless in Lebanon.
“Here is where the next explosion could take place … This is the Beirut neighborhood of Janah. It’s right next to the international airport. And here, Hezbollah is keeping a secret arms depot,” Netanyahu said, showing aerial images of the suspected arms depot along with notations that show it is surrounded by gas companies and civilian housing.
In Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s General Assembly speech earlier in September, he used the platform to rail against the U.S. for its “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign, which is designed to stifle Iran’s economy and force the country into submission. Rouhani called them “the harshest sanctions in history” and said they were imposed in “blatant and gross violation of the charter of the United Nations.”
