PM claimed Iran ‘already obtained atomic bombs;’ Eisenkot, Bennett say it’s a complete ‘lie’

Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot and former prime minister Naftali Bennett accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of lying after the premier claimed during his Channel 14 interview last night that he ordered two Israeli attacks on Iran “to save us from the destruction of atomic bombs — which they already had obtained.”

This was the first time that Netanyahu has ever claimed that Iran had already obtained a nuclear weapon. He has long boasted of advancing policies that prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Netanyahu apparently either got carried away in highlighting the threat from Iran and his steps against the regime or simply misspoke, given that a source familiar with the matter tells Haaretz that Netanyahu’s claim is a “complete lie.”

No previous US or Israeli intelligence assessments have previously accused Iran of already building nuclear weapons. Instead Iran has been accused of enriching uranium to levels with no peaceful use and of seeking the technology that would allow it to break out and develop a bomb in a very short time.

Calling out Netanyahu during an appearance at the Herzliya conference, Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff and a member of the war cabinet, insists, “Iran never obtained nuclear weapons. I’m well aware of all the intelligence. Netanyahu is inventing a reality, making up threats, and that’s his way to scare the Israeli public.”

Also, speaking at the conference, former prime minister Naftali Bennett also called the statement “a lie,” accusing Netanyahu of trying to rewrite history.