An Emad long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile is displayed by the Revolutionary Guard during a military parade, in front of the shrine of late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, September 21, 2016, just outside Tehran, Iran.  (Photo: AP)

JERUSALEM (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel has exposed a nuclear weapons development site in Iran, calling for world leaders to increase the pressure on Iran.

In a live broadcast on Israel's main TV channels, Netanyahu said that the nuclear site was discovered in Abadeh, a county in Iran's southern Fars province.

He presented two aerial photos, saying that they indicate that Iran had destroyed the site after learning that Israel discovered its purpose.

He accused Iran of attempting to conceal its alleged attempts to secretly develop nuclear weapons despite the 2015 nuclear agreement with the world powers, an allegation Iran has repeatedly denied.

"I call for the international community to wake up ... and join Israel and U.S. President (Donald) Trump in putting pressure on Iran," he said. "The necessary policy is pressure, pressure, and more pressure."

Netanyahu, a vocal opponent of the nuclear deal, has lobbied the international community to follow Trump, who withdrew the U.S. from the deal and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran.

The timing of Netanyahu's statement was widely perceived by Israeli media as part of his re-election campaign ahead of Israel's Sept. 19 general elections.