World powers demand access to Iran's nuclear site

Six world powers have urged Iran to answer questions about suspicions that it is working on nuclear weapons, but stressed that diplomacy was the way forward, in a carefully worded statement that reflected Western sensitivity to Russian and Chinese concerns about being too harsh on Tehran.

The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany showed unusual unity when they made the call at a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday.

They urged Iran to open its Parchin military site to IAEA inspectors, amid reports that Tehran might be cleaning it of evidence of nuclear-arms experiments.