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WORLD> America
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Obama: Iran building secret nuke plant
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-25 20:21 SHARING INTELLIGENCE The disclosure, extending a history of Tehran with holding nuclear plans from U.N. non-proliferation inspectors, gave grist to Western calls to consider tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran ahead of October 1 talks in Geneva with six world powers. These talks will be a "serious test" of Tehran's willingness to address concerns about the new plant, the U.S. official said. Obama shared intelligence on the Iranian plant with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev at talks in New York earlier this week, the U.S. official said. China was only just informed about it. The U.S. official said to "stay tuned" for the Chinese position in coming days. China had said on Thursday that more pressure would not persuade Tehran to stop the atomic weapons program it denies having. The Russians have also been reluctant to join in toughening sanctions against Tehran. Obama accused Iran of "breaking rules that all nations must follow" and called for international inspectors "to immediately investigate this disturbing information." Sarkozy said Iran was taking the international community down a "dangerous" path and threatened new sanctions if Iranian leaders did not change course by December. Brown said Iran's defiance should harden the resolve of the international community, which must now "draw a line in the sand" against Tehran. While lodging a serious accusation against Tehran, Obama said: "We remain committed to serious, meaningful engagement with Iran to address the nuclear issue through the P5+1 negotiations." Since taking office in January, Obama has sought to engage Iran diplomatically but has been met mostly with defiance. Iran is under U.N. sanctions for refusing to suspend enrichment and denying access the IAEA needs to clarify Western intelligence indications that Iran has geared nuclear research to developing nuclear bombs, not generating electricity. Iran's previously known enrichment plant at Natanz has been stockpiled with low-enriched uranium, potentially enough for bomb material, in a rapidly expanding operation with almost 9,000 centrifuges installed. The Natanz plant, designed to ultimately hold 55,000 centrifuges, is under daily surveillance by IAEA inspectors.
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