BERITA LUAR NEGARA

West Accuses Iran of Building Secret Plant, Vows Sanctions

25/09/2009 The United States, Britain, France and Germany accused Iran on Friday of building a secret nuclear fuel plant and demanded Tehran immediately halt what they called a "direct challenge" to the international community. US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stood together to say that Iran had revealed to the UN nuclear watchdog that it had built a second uranium enrichment plant. "We expect the IAEA to immediately investigate this disturbing information and to report to the IAEA board of governors," Obama said, branding the new plant a "direct challenge" to international non-proliferation rules. "The Iranian government must now demonstrate through deeds, its peaceful intentions or be held accountable to international standards and international law," he warned. Sarkozy seconded Obama's tough stance, and threatened rapid sanctions. "It was designed and built over the past several years in direct violation of resolutions from the Security Council and from the IAEA," he said of the plant, during a joint appearance with Obama and Brown at the G20 summit. "We already face a severe breakdown of trust. We are now faced with a challenge, a challenge to the entire international community," he said, demanding that Iranian negotiators change their stance. "In December, if there is not an in-depth change in Iranian leaders, sanctions will have to be taken," he said. For his part, Brown claimed that the scale of the Iranian "serial deception of many years" in hiding the plant for may years "will shock and anger the whole international community and it will harden our resolve. "The international community has no choice today but to draw a line in the sand," he said, warning that Iranian faces "further more stringent sanctions." German Chancellor Angela Merkel was unable to join the other leaders on the stage, but separately briefed journalists on her concerns, adding her voice to calls for the IAEA to urgently investigate the site. The IAEA earlier said Iran had sent a letter on September 21 to inform the watchdog "that a new pilot fuel enrichment plant is under construction in the country," agency spokesman Marc Vidricaire said in a statement. (This news from Al Manar, September 26, 2009)