On Thursday, following public revelations of a second Iranian nuclear facility, Western leaders called on the Iranian government officials to open up the plant for inspection by the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog or face tough sanctions.
U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy all issued the Iranian government stern warnings on Thursday, calling the uranium enrichment facility a challenge to the international community.
“It is time for Iran to act immediately to restore the confidence of the international community by fulfilling its international obligations,” Obama said today at the Group of 20 economic summit in Pittsburgh.
For years, the Iranian government had contended that its nuclear programs are strictly for peaceful energy use. U.S. officials say that that is certainly not the case with the most recently discovered facility. Obama called it “inconsistent with a peaceful [nuclear] program.”
French President Nicholas Sarkozy issued the Iranian government deadline of two months to open up the facilities to international investigators. If they do not comply, the international community will impose tough economic sanctions on the country, he said.
"In December, if there is not an in-depth change in Iranian leaders, sanctions will have to be taken," he said.
While the facility is reportedly not fully operational, the U.S. government has known about it for years, according to reports. U.S. officials say that they decided not to go public with the information in order to build up an irrefutable case against the Iranian government. However, in recent days, Tehran officials had learned of the U.S. intelligence and decided to come forward on their own.
“I can confirm that on 21 September Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency in a letter that a new pilot fuel enrichment plant is under construction in the country,” IAEA spokesperson Marc Vidricaire said in a release. “Iran assured the Agency in the letter that 'Further complementary information will be provided in an appropriate and due time.'”
The underground facility is reportedly located in a mountainside 100 miles southwest of Tehran, near the town of Quam - one of the holiest Shiite cities in the Middle East. The plant's location could complicate matters if the Western powers decided to strike it.
“The level of deception by the Iranian government, and the scale of what we
believe is the breach of international commitments, will shock and anger the entire international community,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. “The international community has no choice today but to draw a line in the sand.”