White House claims 'clerical error' led to drastic change in Iran statement
Washington — A one-letter mistake on an official White House statement led to consternation and questions about official U.S. policy toward Iran on Monday, and a quiet correction did little to quell the matter.
In the written statement sent to reporters around 7:30 p.m. ET, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders declared that newly unveiled Israeli intelligence proved "Iran has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program."
The declaration flew in the face of American intelligence determinations, which found Tehran froze its program following the Obama-era agreement to lift sanctions in exchange for curtailing its nuclear ambitions. By 9:30 p.m. ET, the statement appeared differently online.
"Iran had a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program," the online version read, reiterating a long-established U.S. position.
The White House did not issue a formal correction, but did offer an explanation.
"The original White House statement included a clerical error, which we quickly detected and fixed," a National Security Council spokesman told CNN Tuesday. "To be clear, the United States has long known that Iran had a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program."
The snafu came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dramatically presented on Monday a hoard of Iranian documents that he said proved the regime lied about its pursuit of nuclear weapons. But analysts shrugged, saying Netanyahu's hour-long presentation in English offered little new information about Iran's program.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/white-house-claims-clerical-error-led-to-drastic-change-in-iran-statement/ar-AAwAtp8?li=BBnb7Kz
More Trump administration alt facts I guess.