The UN has discovered evidence of illicit nuclear activity at a site Iranian officials claimed was an innocuous carpet factory, online publication Axios reported on Thursday.
The determination apparently confirms accusations made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address to the UN last September, when he accused the Islamic republic of using the facility to store nuclear equipment and material.
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Iran denied Netanyahu's accusations, who claimed that at least 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of enriched uranium had been stored inside the warehouse. The material was later removed in a "clean up" that Iran conducted in order to hide the activity from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Under the terms of the international nonproliferation treaty, of which Iran is a signatory, secretly storing nuclear materials without notifying the IAEA is a serious offense.
Upon Israel's discovery of the Iranian warehouse, the information was passed to the IAEA, leading to the UN conducting an inspection of the site, four Israeli officials told Axios.
Soil samples and other evidence examined at the site have returned positive for radioactive material, indicating that nuclear materials were housed at the facility, Axios reported.
Amid a backdrop of escalating tensions between the Islamic republic and the West, Israel hopes that the UN's findings will be included in an upcoming report that will be circulated to all the member states in its board of governors meeting.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
