Israel accuses Iran of continuing nuclear program

By Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of continually expanding the range of its nuclear-capable missiles, violating its landmark deal to curb its nuclear program.

In a statement, Netanyahu claimed Israeli intelligence services had obtained 55,000 pages of Iranian documents revealing how Tehran allegedly lied to the world after signing the nuclear deal.

"Iran lied about never having a nuclear weapons program, 100,000 secret files proved that they lied," he said.

His remarks followed a weekend meeting between Netanyahu and newly sworn-in U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce a decision on May 12 whether or not the U.S. will pull out of the deal.

In July 2015, the EU and the P5+1 group of countries — China, Germany, France, Russia, the U.K. and U.S. — signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, with Tehran. The accord stipulated a gradual lifting of anti-Iranian sanctions in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program and allowing inspections to ensure that the nature of the program is peaceful.

Israel traditionally considers Iran one of the biggest threats to its security.