President Obama and the leaders of France and Britain accused Iran of building a secret uranium-enrichment site capable of fueling a nuclear bomb.
"Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow, endangering the global nonproliferation regime, denying its own people access to the opportunity they deserve, and threatening the stability and security of the region and the world," President Obama said.
The United States has known about the facility for years. But last week, Iran admitted its existence to the United Nations agency in charge of keeping track of nuclear programs, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran maintains the site is part of its peaceful nuclear power program but French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that was just Iran's attempt to gain more time while their push for a weapon continues.
The three leaders pushed the United Nation's Security Council to punish Iran with economic sanctions. While Russia indicated that it might move towards sanctions against Iran, China said all such issues can be resolved through negotiation.
This video begins with a report on the news, and follows with analysis from former U.N. nuclear weapons inspector, David Albright.
Quotes
"Confronted by the serial deception of many years, the international community has no choice today but to draw a line in the sand…. Let the message that goes out to the world be absolutely clear, that Iran must abandon any military ambitions for its nuclear program." - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
"We are now faced with a challenge, a challenge made to the entire international community. Everything, everything must be put on the table now. We cannot let Iranian leaders gain time while the motors are running. If by December there is not an in-depth change by the Iranian leaders, sanctions will have to be taken." - French President Nicolas Sarkozy
"It's really bad for three heads of state to say something that doesn't have any legal foundation. And, you know, they're accusing an independent government, member state of the IAEA, without any evidence or documentation. Now, this is really the reverse of the trend, the reverse trend that Mr. Obama was aiming at." - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Warm Up Questions
1. What do you know about Iran?
2. Why doesn't the United States want more countries to have nuclear weapons?
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think Iran has a right to have nuclear weapons? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think President Obama decide to make these accusations now?
3. How do world leaders try to avoid nuclear war?
Additional Resources
