Amid revelations about a new under-construction nuclear enrichment facility in Iran, the leaders of the United States, France and Britain accuse the country of deception in its pursuit of nuclear energy.
According to the UN nuclear watchdog, the Iranian government in a letter on September 21 informed the agency that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant, allegedly near the central city of Qom.
Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the new plant will produce enriched uranium up to 5 percent, consistent with its nuclear energy program, the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported.
Before President Barack Obama of the US, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain made their case against Iran on Friday, the New York Times reported that the secrecy of the project had been breached by Western intelligence agencies before Iran announced its existence.
With the revelation, however, the program, which is one of the most polarizing issues in the world with world powers accusing Iran of seeking nuclear weaponry on one side and developing countries supporting Tehran's right to nuclear energy on the other, has taken a new turn.
Appearing before reporters in Pittsburgh on Friday, Obama charged Iran with attempting to cover the project for years and urged Tehran to re-energize its efforts to build the trust of the international community.
The US president, accompanied by Sarkozy and Brown who are in the city for the meeting of the Group of 20, also urged the UN nuclear watchdog to thoroughly investigate the new plant, which, he said, was a "direct challenge" to international non-proliferation rules.
President Sarkozy seconded Obama's stance and accused the Tehran government of taking the world down a "dangerous" path. He also threatened new sanctions if the leaders of Iran did not change course by December.
"We cannot let the Iranian leaders gain time while the motors are running," Sarkozy said. "Everything must be put on the table."
The news about the new plant comes ahead of a much-anticipated meeting in Geneva on October 1 between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
Iran, already under three rounds of UNSC sanctions, insists that its program is solely for the purpose of producing fuel for nuclear power plants, citing domestic enrichment as the heart of its nuclear policy.
The six, however, are expected to press the country to abandon its enrichment activities.
Prime Minister Brown, who echoed Obama and Sarkozy, said Iran's "serial deception of many years" in its nuclear work demanded a tougher action by the international community.
There is "no choice but to draw a line in the sand," he said.
President Obama, meanwhile, repeated his veiled warning that he delivered before the UN General Assembly, warning that Tehran would "be held accountable to international standards and international law" should it fail to demonstrate its "peaceful intentions."
He also said that the second enrichment facility -- which will reportedly house up to 3,000 centrifuges -- "is inconsistent with a peaceful (nuclear) program."
However, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quick to respond to what appears to be an emerging united stance by the West toward Tehran's nuclear program.
"This does not mean we must inform Mr. Obama's administration of every facility that we have," he told Time in New York as Obama was speaking to reporters in Pittsburgh.
He also warned the US president not to pressure Iran on its nuclear program.
"If I were Obama's adviser, I would definitely advise him to refrain from making this statement because it is definitely a mistake," Ahmadinejad said. "It would definitely be a mistake."
MD/CS
The Iranian government has announced that the nation is near completion of a second nuclear power facility. The announcement was made in a September 21 letter from the Iranian government to the United Nations Security Council that a second nuclear plant was being constructed in the city of .

In the letter to the U.N., the Iranian government states that the plant will contain 3,000  and produce roughly 5% . 

According to , the Iranian government made the announcement after the nation received word that the United States had already known about the facility. CNN cites an unnamed U.S. government official as saying the U.S. was made aware of the facility at some point during the presidency of George W. Bush. Today the U.S., along with France and the United Kingdom, condemned the new plant.

"Iran's decision to build yet another nuclear facility without notifying the IAEA represents a direct challenge to the basic compact at the center of the non-proliferation regime.  The size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program," said U.S. president Barack Obama during a press conference.  French president  and Prime Minister of the UK  stood next to Obama as he made the statement.

The Iranian government has repeatedly stated that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and for the production of electricity.  In response, the country's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the new plant was not a secret and that the  knew the plant existed.  He also called the statements made by Obama, Brown, and Sarkozy a "mistake."

"It's not a secret site. If it was, why would we have informed the IAEA about it a year ahead of time. They (U.S., UK & France) will regret this announcement. If I were Obama's adviser, I would definitely advise him to refrain from making this statement because it is definitely a mistake. It would definitely be a mistake," said Ahmadinejad to reporters in  in the U.S.

The U.N. Security Council has passed several resolutions ordering Iran to stop its enrichment of uranium, or face sanctions. The first resolution, , passed the council in July of 2006 with 14 nations agreeing to the resolution and one opposing it. The resolution ordered Iran to stop enrichment and in December 2006, the council unanimously voted on , which enacted sanctions banning the supply of nuclear related materials to the country, and froze assets of individuals and companies connected to the country's nuclear program.