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March 9, 2012

Iran Accused of Covering Up Alleged Nuclear Site 
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The latest news on U.S.-Israel military talks comes as the Iranian
government faces pressure over its recent decision to allow fresh
nuclear inspections. Western officials say they have received
intelligence Iran is seeking to "clean up" its Parchin military complex
ahead of a new visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Robert
Wood, the head of the U.S. mission to the IAEA, called the reports
"disturbing."

Robert Wood: "I don't want to get into intelligence issues or anything
like that but certainly there have been reports out there that Iran has
been so-called sanitizing the Parchin site. If that's really happening,
that is of great concern to us and I think it kind of makes sense why
Iran denied the Agency access and was very concerned about providing
access to the Agency. So I don't know what is going on there at Parchin
but the reports are very disturbing."

Speaking in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the
United States hopes to resolve the Iran nuclear issue diplomatically.
But in a potential nod to the threat of U.S. or Israeli military action,
Clinton said it's more urgent to resolve the issue now than it has been
in the past.

Hillary Clinton: "We are hoping that the Iranians will come to the
table, prepared to have the kind of serious and sincere discussion we
have been looking for several years. We are thinking it is even more
pressing and imperative today than it has been in the past and we would
like to see diplomatic progress, which we support."



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