A one-letter mistake on an official White House statement led to consternation and questions about official US policy toward Iran on Monday, and a quiet correction did little to quell the matter.
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 US 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. »
Speaking during a White House news briefing on Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Sanders said the mistake was « noticed and immediately corrected. »
« We think the biggest mistake was the Obama administration ever entering the deal that you referenced in the first place, » she said.
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.
On Tuesday, the White House sought to bolster Netanyahu’s position, saying the information « adds new and compelling details about these efforts. »
