Iran cleric alleges Netanyahu told Trump of Iranian missiles capable of reaching US

WASHINGTON, United States — TEHRAN — A senior Iranian cleric appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as his representative in the northwestern city of Ardabil claimed on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned U.S. President Donald Trump during their Washington meeting that Iran possesses missiles with a range of 8,000 kilometers capable of easily striking the American president's residence. Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Ameli, who delivered the main Friday sermon in Ardabil, also alleged that Netanyahu showed Trump what he described as a fabricated map of the Kohkelang facility in Isfahan province and told the U.S. president that Iran was only hours away from acquiring a nuclear bomb. Ameli further claimed Netanyahu briefed Trump on what he described as a divide within Iran between war advocates and supporters of peace negotiations. Trump announced earlier that he had canceled a large-scale military operation against Iran and that new negotiations would begin on Tehran's nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's government has said no meeting with the United States is planned and that current contacts are limited to Oman and to navigation issues in the strait.