[TIME] Bobby Ghosh - The CIA had known about Iran's undisclosed uranium-enrichment plant in Qom for three years, CIA Director Leon Panetta told TIME. The CIA worked with British and French intelligence, which had also been on the lookout for the secret plant. In 2006, the CIA noted unusual activity at the mountain inside of which the facility was constructed: the Iranians moved an anti-aircraft battery to the site, a clear sign that something important was being built there. Panetta said: "Our body of knowledge, based on multiple sources, grew to the point that allowed us earlier this year to reach the high-confidence conclusion that this was a covert nuclear facility." Panetta said British, French and Israeli intelligence agencies were involved this summer in compiling a comprehensive presentation about the Qom facility "in the event that that information leaked out or that [the Obama administration] wanted to present it to the International Atomic Energy Agency."
2009-10-08 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive