In a message posted on his X account, Esmaeil Baqaei described Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct as “mythomania,” referring to CNN’s compilation of more than 30 years of statements by the Israeli premier in which he repeatedly claimed Iran was only months away from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“This is 'mythomania': CNN compiles 3 decades of Netanyahu's continuing lies about Iran's nuclear program, each time warning that Iran was very close to developing a nuclear bomb,” the Iranian spokesman said.

Iran has repeatedly stressed that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and conducted in full accordance with its rights and obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). As a non-nuclear-weapon state, Iran says it is entitled to develop nuclear energy for civilian purposes, including power generation, medical research, and industrial applications.