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Iran Nuclear Capability Was More Advanced Than Tehran Admitted, White House Says

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Iran's nuclear capabilities were more advanced than Tehran admitted when it inked the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the international community, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday.
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"The problem is that the deal was made on a completely false pretense. Iran lied on the front end, they were dishonest actors and so the deal that was made was made on things that were not accurate," Sanders said at a White House press briefing. "We have a big problem with that. Particularly the fact that Iran's nuclear capabilities were far more advanced and far further along than they ever indicated."

The spokesperson was responding to a reporter's question about a typo in a statement on Iran that the White House issued on Monday. The White House initially issued a statement that said, "Iran has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program," but later corrected it to read, "Iran had a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program."

White House Admits Error in Statement on Iran Nuclear Weapons Program - Reports
Sanders said the typo was immediately noticed and corrected, but argued that the bigger mistake occurred when former President Barack Obama entered into the nuclear deal with Iran.

She warned that once the deal expires, Iran would be able to make a nuclear weapon much quicker than previously believed.

On July 14, 2015, the European Union and the P5+1 group of countries — Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany — signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — also known as the Nuclear Deal — with Tehran. The accord stipulated a gradual lifting of sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Association has verified that Iran is upholding its commitments under the accord.

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