The White House revises statement saying Iran ‘has’ secret nuclear program

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders

The White House has changed a public statement, which was issued in support of the Israeli prime minister’s speech against Iran’s nuclear activities and which stated that Tehran “has” a secret nuclear program.

The statement was initially released by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday evening, hours after Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address, unveiled what he called documents which show there is a “secret” side to the Iranian nuclear program.  

“These facts are consistent with what the United States has long known: Iran has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program that it has tried and failed to hide from the world and from its own people,” read the initial version.

The White House later changed the tense of the verb in the second sentence from present to past, saying Iran “had a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program...”

Citing a White House official, NBC News reported that the initial statement had contained a “clerical error.”

The initial statement contradicted the positions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the signatories to the Iran nuclear deal, which have all confirmed Iran’s full compliance with the accord.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is a staunch critic of the Iran deal, calling on the European parties to the deal to “fix” it or the US would withdraw.

However, it has so far not officially accused Iran of continuing to build a nuclear weapon, something which would consist of a direct violation of the agreement. 

Prior to the developments, Netanyahu had taken to the television, brandishing documents and CDs, which he alleged were “evidence” of Iran secretly running a “nuclear weapon project.”

The premier did not go farther than making allegations and refused to unveil the contents of the materials he was presenting as alleged proof.

The new White House statement claimed, though, that “these facts are consistent with what the United States has long known.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also reacted to Netanyahu’s allegations by saying that the Israeli prime minister was like the boy who cries wolf.

Netanyahu also accused Tehran of violating a 2015 nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the US, the UK, Britain, France, Russia, and China -- plus Germany.

The European Union, France, United Kingdom, and Germany have expressed support for the deal in the wake of the Israeli claims.