The Iran nuclear deal echo chamber boasted about by former Barack Obama White House aide Ben Rhodes in 2016 appears live and well in 2018.
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's presentation Monday revealing more about the scope of Iran's past nuclear work and its deceit on that front, pundits and politicians defending the deal took to the air waves to declare there was "nothing new" about his findings.
However, the Israeli intelligence operation showed Iran's efforts in preserving secret files of its past nuclear work could constitute a violation of the nuclear agreement:
Israel's newly obtained intelligence, according to Netanyahu, shows how Tehran "authorized, initiated, and funded" Project Amad, "a comprehensive program to design, build, and test nuclear weapons." While Iran shelved the program in 2003, Netanyahu said Tehran's work in the field has continued, with the regime "secretly storing Project Amad material to use at a time of its choice to develop nuclear weapons." Notably, Netanyahu said the man who led the project, Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, as well as key personnel who worked under him at the time are still central to Iran's nuclear program today.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu's findings were widely met with a shrug from the mainstream press.
Rhodes bragged to the New York Times about creating an "echo chamber" of reporters by pushing Obama-friendly "experts" at think tanks to validate the nuclear agreement. The article was published nearly two years ago to the day, May 5, 2016.