Gareth Porter discusses an investigation by The Grayzone into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation of documents purporting to prove to the Trump government that Iran was developing a nuclear weapons program. The new investigation, however, suggests that this was nothing more than an attempt to trigger U.S. military conflict with Iran using documents that had been entirely fabricated, rather than obtained by Mossad, as claimed. As usual, it is only months or years later that we discover the truth behind plots like this, even while we narrowly avoid large-scale armed conflict in the moment.

Discussed on the show:

“With Apparently Fabricated Nuclear Documents, Netanyahu Pushed the US Towards War With Iran” (Antiwar.com Original)

“To Pressure Iran, Pompeo Turns to the Deal Trump Renounced” (The New York Times)

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state, and author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter and listen to Gareth’s previous appearances on the Scott Horton Show.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

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The following is an automatically generated transcript.

Show TranscriptScott Horton 0:00

For Pacifica radio, may 3 2020. I'm Scott Horton. This is anti war radio.

All right, y'all welcome it's Scott Horton Show. I am the director of the Libertarian Institute editorial director of antiwar.com, author of the book Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. And I've recorded more than 5000 interviews going back to 2003, all of which are available at ScottHorton.org. You can also sign up to the podcast feed. The full archive is also available at youtube.com/ScottHortonShow. Right now introducing my very favorite reporter, the great Gareth Porter, this time, writing for the grey zone at the grey zone calm and also reprinted at anti war.com. With apparently fabricated nuclear documents, Netanyahu pushed the us toward war. with Iran Oh say it ain't so. Gareth Porter. Welcome back to the show, sir.

Gareth Porter 1:05

I'm glad to be back. Thanks again, Scott.

Scott Horton 1:08

Netanyahu telling lies to increase tensions between the US and Iran. Who could have imagined. But you reminded me, I guess I had forgotten this, that when Donald Trump took America out of the Iran nuclear deal in May of 2018, that was just a couple of weeks after Benjamin Netanyahu, his big press conference, or well, publicity stunt anyway, I don't know if he took any questions, his big publicity stunt where he revealed all of Iran's nuclear documents, he claimed, and that's what you're talking about here. These apparently fabricated nuclear documents. So those documents certainly played a role then in changing the narrative in the time leading right up to When Trump repudiated the deal, so we can talk about the consequences of that. But first of all, tell us why you're so sure, then, that these documents were not in fact liberated by the Mossad from a top secret facility in Iran.

Gareth Porter 2:15

Right. You know, this is this is a story that I love, in part because I'm able to show that there are multiple levels on which the Netanyahu tale of the Mossad going in, in dark of night, and stealing half a time supposedly of the most highest classified top secret nuclear documents from out from under the noses of the Iranians is totally false. And, and, of course, the first one, the first level,