Iran accused of "serial deception" over nuclear ambitions
Iran has told the UN nuclear watchdog it now has a second uranium enrichment plant
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By Richard James. |  |
Friday, 25, Sep 2009 05:35
By Richard James.
Britain, the United States and France have today accused Iran of building a secret uranium enrichment plant created for military purposes.
In a joint statement at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, Gordon Brown, US president Barack Obama, and French president Nicolas Sarkozy all roundly condemned Tehran for actions they claim amounted to "serial deception".
Mr Brown warned that Iran's nuclear ambitions now represented the most urgent nuclear proliferation challenge facing the international community.
He claimed the level of "deception and betrayal will shock and anger the whole international community".
The prime minister said evidence showed the plant could not have been created for civil nuclear reasons, with experts claiming the level of production was not sufficient for civil reasons - suggesting the site was created for military purposes.
Tehran had engaged in serial deception for years and warned Iran's government that if it did not engage fully in nuclear disarmament talks on October 1st it would face further sanctions.
He claimed it was the third time Iran had been caught "red-handed".
Level of deception over many years, third time they've been caught red-handed, not telling the truth about nuclear ambitions
Mr Brown claimed that if Tehran failed to cooperate with the international talks in October and fully lay out what its plans were it would face tougher than ever sanctions in financial, energy, economy and technological sectors.
Mr Obama said Iran endangered the non-proliferation regime and had displayed a "continuing unwillingness to meet its obligations".
He said Tehran's continuing actions amounted to a failure to comply with the United Nations security council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The US president also demanded UN inspectors to be allowed into the new plant immediately.
Mr Sarkozy warned Iran was now taking the international community down "a dangerous path".
He again echoed the sentiments of his counterparts, claiming Tehran was in direct violation of the security council resolution and the IAEA.
Reports suggest the new nuclear enrichment site was constructed back in 2006 and western nations had been aware of its existence for a while.