Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Iran of deceiving the international community about its atomic activities as he met with the visiting head of the UN nuclear watchdog on Friday.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, paid a brief visit to Israel, which has long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons and is opposed to any return to the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.Bennett "expressed Israel's deep concern regarding Iran's continued progress toward achieving nuclear weapons while deceiving the international community by using false information and lies," his office said in a statement.
He "emphasised the urgent need in mobilising the international community to take action against Iran, using all means, in order to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons."
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but has never publicly acknowledged having such weapons.
Israel was a staunch opponent of the 2015 nuclear deal and welcomed the Trump administration's unilateral withdrawal from the agreement, which caused it to collapse. The Biden administration has been trying to renew the accord, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for limits to and oversight of its nuclear programme.