Obama, Sarkozy, Brown: Iran Building Secret Nuclear Plant

The New York Times wrote that the U.S. had known of and been tracking the covert plant secretly for years, but decided to make the announcement was decided after Iran discovered that Western intelligence agencies had learned of the project.

Knowing that the plant was not secret, Iran revealed the existence of the plant earlier this week in a letter sent to Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The facility is only 20 miles from the Islamic holy city of Qum, meaning an attack would likely spark an uproar in the Muslim world. Previously, Iran had indicated it was operating only one nuclear facility, which is already being monitored by the IAEA.

All three leaders spoke regarding the issue. Following Obama's statements, Sarkozy said Iran must comply with international demands by December. Otherwise, the country will face a new round of sanctions. "Everything must be put on the table now."

Gordon Brown concluded by stating that the Western powers had "no choice but to draw a line in the sand" on Iran's nuclear program. Iran is already under three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze nuclear enrichment programs.

This announcement will make the scheduled Oct. 1 talks between Iran and six world powers interesting, to say the least. It was expected that the other nations would press Iran still further on its nuclear ambitions.