Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country has obtained copies of tens of thousands of files purportedly containing "incriminating" information about Iran's nuclear program, including evidence that Tehran was seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
In a press conference in Tel Aviv on April 30, Netanyahu said that, after signing an agreement with international powers that curbed its nuclear program in 2015, Tehran hid the archives of its nuclear program, including information about a plan to develop the equivalent of "five Hiroshima bombs to be put on ballistic missiles."
"Iran planned at the highest level to continue building nuclear weapons," Netanyhu said.
Iran has always said its nuclear program was entirely peaceful and has denied seeking nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu said the 2015 nuclear deal was "based on lies."
In all, Netanyahu said Israel has obtained "exact copies" of some 55,000 files from the purported Iranian archive. He also showed a video that he said showed a previously unknown Iranian nuclear facility.
He added that Israel has shared its information with the United States.
U.S President Donald Trump has criticized the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama.
He has called for the deal to be renegotiated or scrapped and has said he is considering withdrawing from it.
At his Tel Aviv press conference, Netanyahu said he is certain Trump will do "the right thing" regarding the nuclear deal.
Netanyahu met on April 29 with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss Iran and the nuclear deal.
After the talks, Pompeo said Trump had "a comprehensive Iran plan that is designed to counter the full array of threats emanating from Tehran."
He added that the United States was "deeply concerned about Iran's dangerous escalation of threats to Israel and the region."
