Bluntly confronting Iran, the leaders of the United States (US), France and Britain accused the Islamic republic yesterday of clandestinely building an underground plant to make nuclear fuel that could be used to build an atomic bomb.
"The size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful programme," President Barack Obama said of the formerly secret site, warning of severe consequences if Iran does not disclose its nuclear efforts and intentions.
Obama and other world leaders revealed and condemned the plant's existence in a dramatic early-morning appearance at a world leaders' summit that was otherwise focused on recovery from the global economic meltdown.
They demanded that Iran open all nuclear sites for inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
nothing wrong
Unbowed, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country had done nothing wrong and Obama would regret his accusations.
At a news conference in New York, Ahmadinejad said the plant would not be operational for 18 months but sidestepped a question about whether Iran had sufficient enriched uranium to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Still, he said Tehran rejects such armaments as "inhumane."
Disclosure of the site added urgency to a diplomatic stand-off with Iran over the nature of its nuclear programme, a subject sure to be raised at a meeting next week in Geneva between Iran, the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
It also appeared to increase the likelihood of new United Nations' (UN) sanctions against Iran for what Obama called a troublesome pattern of cheating on its international nuclear obligations.
Iran had previously acknow-ledged having only the one uranium enrichment plant, under international monitoring, and had denied allegations of undeclared nuclear activities.
Head of Iran's nuclear pro-gramme suggested UN inspectors would be allowed to visit the site. Ali Akbar Salehi called the facility "a semi-industrial plant for enriching nuclear fuel" that is not yet complete, but he gave no other details, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Ahmadinejad, before his news conference, told Time magazine his nation was keeping nothing from international inspectors and needn't "inform Mr Obama's administration of every facility that we have".